I 




! 



TEOPICAL AGEICULTUEE 

A TREATISE 



CULTURE, PREPARATION, COMMERCE, AND ' 
CONSUMPTION OF THE PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF THE 
VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



p. L. SIMMONDS, F.R.C.I., 

EDITOR OF 'THE JOURNAL OF APPLIED SCIENCE,' 
AUTHOR OF ' THE COMMERCIAL DICTIONARY OF TRADE PRODUCTS,' ' ANIMAL PRODUCTS AND THEIR USES,' 
'WASTE PRODUCTS AND UNDEVELOPED SUBSTANCES,' ETC.; 
HONORARY AND CORRESPOJfDING MEMBER OP THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES OP MONTREAL, 
KONIGSBERG, NEW ORLEANS, THE IMPERIAL AUSTRIAN AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, VIENNA, 
THE ROYAL SOCIETIES OF BRITISH GUIANA AND JAMAICA, THE SOClfiTfi INDUSTRIELLE DE MULHOUSE, 
THE SOClfiTi! GEOGRAPHIQUE DE MARSEILLE, ETC. 




.^5 



\ PREFACE. 

About five-and-twenty years ago, after some years' practical expe- 
rience on estates in tlie West Indies, having published numerous 
essays on Tropical Agriculture in the volumes of my ' Colonial Maga- 
zine,' and assisted in bringing out an Encyclopaedia of Agriculture, I 
prepared a work for which there appeared to be a demand, treating of 
the cultivation, manufacture, and consumption of the chief ' Commer- 
cial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom.' 

The edition being limited, and chiefly restricted to subscribers, 
the book has long been scarce, and is greatly in request ; no other 
writer having since taken up this general field of description, I have 
been repeatedly asked to reprint the work ; but my various literary 
engagements and active duties in charge of colonial products at the 
different international exhibitions have hitherto prevented me from 
devoting the necessary time and research to the task. 

Last year I was requested by the Lords of the Committee of 
Council on Education to prepare a work on the commercial products 
of the Animal Kingdom, and, on completing that volume, it appeared 
to me that a new edition of my work, ' The Products of the Vegetable 
Kingdom,' would then form a very suitable companion to it. The old 
book was, however, unsuited to the practice and wants of the day, 
and such immense strides and improvements have been made in all the 
branches of scientific culture and manufacture, that I found it essen- 
tially necessary to write an entirely new work, merely following, 
to some extent, the plan and arrangement of the former edition, 
which had been found useful, and met with general approval. I 
have introduced many new subjects which have risen into commercial 
importance, especially the products of the Palm family, and the oils 
and oil-seeds of commerce ; while others, such as fibrous materials (on 
which many special hand-books exist), I have not touched upon. I 
venture to believe that the work will be found practically useful on 
the subjects it treats of, especially as regards the statistics of pro- 
duction and consumption, which have been brought down as closely 
as possible in all cases to the date of publication. 

A 2 



iv 



PREFACE. 



The period of a quarter of a century which has elapsed between the 
publication of the two works has been characterised by remarkable 
and singular changes, not only in the sources of production of many 
of the staples, but in improved and largely-increased supplies. 

In a paper which I read before the Eoyal Colonial Institute in 
January, 1874, on " Colonial Aids to British Prosperity, together 
with a retrospect of the progress of our dependencies in the last 
quarter of a century," I pointed out in considerable detail the great 
value 'of our colonies in furnishing us with large portions of our 
food supplies, and the raw materials for our manufactures, — as fields 
for enterprise and the safe and profitable investment of capital, — 
as homes for our surplus population, — as large customers for our 
manufactures, — as affording active employment for our shipping, and 
as outposts of defence, &c. 

The greater part of our distant possessions (India and the Colonies) 
are situated in tropical or sub-tropical regions, and I may briefly 
show the progress they have made in this quarter of a century, as 
evidenced by the latest official returns available : 





1850. 


1874. 




178,338,667 


198,949,223 




£3i,875,307 


77,094,042 


Shipping, entered and cleared, tons 


10,521,526 


38,640,935 




£36,855,861 


155,192,931 




£34,348,941 


154,309,734 



If we make a retrospective comparison also of the condition of the 
United Kingdom, we find, as regards commerce, even more marked 
progress shown. How much indeed of the world's progress has been 
affected by the influence of navigation and commercial intercourse; 
and how much more may yet be carried out before the close of the 
present century. 

The following figures mark the condition of the United Kingdom 
at the two periods : 





1850. 


1875. 


Shipping, entered and cleared, tons 


27,674,353 
£52,810,680 

14,505,064 
£71,367,885 
£100,460,433 


33,089,237 
74,425,000 
46,276,838 
281,612,323 
373,939,577 



The present work is not exclusively confined to agricultural pro- 
gress in our colonies, for I have gone carefully over the different 



PREFACE. 



V 



fields of production in all foreign countries, so that comparisons 
may be made. It will be found that we have not stood still in 
the competitive race, whether as regards the production of sugar, 
coffee, cocoa, tea, rice, or other staple articles for which there is a 
demand in Europe. The great increase which has taken place in our 
imports in some of the principal commodities is shown by the follow- 
ing comparative figures : 



Ajbticles of Food etc. 




1851. 


1876. 








Cocoa 


lbs. 




20 382 .308 


Coffee 


cwts. 


474 402 


1 341 378 


Tea 


lbs. 


71, 476 ',421 


185,698,190 


Su'^'ar 
Molasses 


cwts. 


S SSI 07^ 


15 '587 246 




791 78.S 


496 357 




galls. 


2,930,967 


7,953,913 






4,745,244 


10,476,503 


W^ine 






19 969 838 


]VTaize 


cwts. 


7 747 Oil 


39 958 226 


TTlPdl 


59 




7 706 


Rice 


55 


744 «47 


6 48*1 987 


Sa crn 


" 


92 021 


360 .357 


Arrowroot and. tapioca . . 


5? 


16 915 


484 230 




lbs. 


267 462 


1 200 000 


Cloves 


" 


253 438 




Cinuanioii 




530 826 


1 339 508 


Ginger 


55 ^ 


16 503 


62,164 


Nutmegs and. niace . . 


lbs. 


358 320 






55 


3,996,295 


26,059,030 




cwts. 


36,061 


35,710 


Currants and raisins 


55 


982,934 


1,714,445 


Oranges and lemons 


bush. 


800,000 


2,995,328 


Articles for Mantjeactuees 


, ETC. 








qrs. 


712,865 


2,457,348 




tons. 




230,284 




55 


55,076 


190,225 




cwts. 


55,994 


199,431 




tuns. 


11,503 


23,975 






608,550 


864,472 


Coir, yarn, and cordage . . 


55 


82,582 


219,367 




55 


92,755 


300,798 


Gambier and cutch . . 


tons. 


7,220 


26,677 




cwts. 


89,944 


88,680 


Madder and garancine . . 


55 


295,016 


74,535 



The attention which has of late years been given to the culture of 
tea in India, of coffee in Ceylon and our Indian empire, of tropical 
fruits for export — the orange, the pine-apple, and the grape, &c., of 
oil-seeds, and other products, is very remarkable. 

In some cases, as in cotton seed, palm-nut kernels, ground-nuts, and 
other oil-seeds, new industries have sprung up of great importance 
to our commerce and manufactures. 

Finally, I may state that having long been extensively identified 



vi 



PREFACE. 



with commercial literature, and thorouglily conversant with all colonial 
products, I have studied to accumulate facts and useful information 
on the various subjects treated of, so as to make the book a reliable 
and standard work of reference, useful alike to the planter and pro- 
ducer, the merchant and broker, as well as to the general public, who 
are the consumers. 

P. L. SIMMONDS. 

29, Cheapside, London, 
Ilay, 1877. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

SECTION I. — Plaistts yielding Seeds, Leaves, and other Substances 
employed in domestic use for the preparation op dietetic 
Beverages, &c. 

Cocoa. — Botanical description and chemistry — Statistics of production in 
various countries — Statistics of imports and consumption in the United 
Kingdom — Culture in Trinidad — Statistics of exports from Trinidad 

— Production in the otlier West Indian Islands, Dominica, St. Lucia, 
Grenada, Jamaica, Guadaloupe, and Martinique — French Guiana — 
Culture in Venezuela — Statistics of production and export in Venezuela, 
Ecuador, Brazil — Shipments from Para — Culture in the East — The 
Philippines 1 

GuARANA. — Production in Brazil and other parts of South America — 
Chemical composition of 26 

Coffee. — Production in the world at different periods — Statistics of con- 
sumption in the United Kingdom — In countries of Europe, the United 
States, and British colonies — Varieties of the plant — Systems of 
cultivation in Java — Statistics — Sumatra — Celebes — Timor — The 
Philippines — Culture in Ceylon — Acreage under coffee — Statistics 
of value of manure imj)orted — Plantation and native coffee — Statistics 
of production — Insect pests — Production in British India — Statistics 
of land under coffee and the crops — Mysore — Travancore — Exports of 
Indian coffee — Keunion — Arabia — Africa and its islands — Liberia 

— Natal — Productions in the West India Islands — Martinique, Guada- 
loupe, Jamaica, Hayti, Cuba, Porto Eico, Trinidad, Dominica — Produc- 
tion in America — Central America, New Granada, British Honduras, 
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, British Guiana, French 
Guiana, Bolivia, Venezuela — Brazil — Statistics of production and 
exports — Supply to the United States — Production in Java — Com- 
parative area and crops of Brazil, Java, and Ceylon 27 

Tea. — General remarks — Statistics of consumption in the United King- 
dom — General production and consumption — Imports into the United 
Kingdom, showing the producing countries — Culture in China — 
Process of manufacture and preparation of the leaf — Shipments of 
tea from Shanghai — American imports — Russian consumption — 
Shipments from the fourteen Treaty ports — History of tea planting in 
India — Assam — Progress of culture — Statistics of Indian tea exports 

— Tea planting in Cachar — Sikhim — Prospects in Ceylon, climate, 
soil, labour, &c. — Straits Settlements — Java — First introduction of 
tea plant — Statistics of production — J apan — Production and exports 

— Australia — Melbourne — Queensland — Jamaica — Brazil — North 



America — California — Instructions for manufacture 79 

' Yerba Mate, or Paraguay Tea. — Description of the tree — Mode of 
preparing the tea — Statistics of production and consumption in 
Paraguay, Brazil, and the Kiver Plate States 121 



viii 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

SuGAE. — General remarks — Estimate of production of all kinds of sugar 

— Value of the cane sugar exported from the principal British pos- 
sessions in decennial periods — Statistics of sugar production m the 
West India Islands — Cane sugar production of the world in 1876 

— Beetroot production of Eui'ope in 1876 — Estimated aggregate and 
individual consumption of sugar in the world — Total consumption in 
the United Kingdom — From whence derived — Molasses — The sup- 
plies we receive — Kum and imports — Varieties of the sugar-cane — 
Experimental culture in Trinidad — Production of sugar, molasses, and 
rum in British Guiana — Mode of cultivation — French Guiana — 
Surinam, statistics of exports — Brazil, production and progress — Ship- 
ments from Pernambuco — British Honduras — Central America — 
Colombia — Venezuela — Statistics of exports — Peru, shipments to 
England — Louisiana, introduction of the sugar-cane and progress 
made in production — Chemical results — India — Eude processes of 
culftrre and manufactui-e — Burdwan — Scinde — Statistics of ship- 
ments of sugar from British India — Siam — China — Exports — 
Mauritius — Varieties of cane grown — Improved manufacture — Che- 
mical analyses — Statistics of exports — Reunion — Straits Settlements 

— Philippines — Statistics of exports — Java — Borneo — Sandwich 
Islands — Fiji Islands — Tihiti — Queensland — New South Wales — 
Victoria — Egypt — Processes of manufacture — Introduction of im- 
proved machinery — Chemistry and physics of sugar manufacture — 
Statistics of exports of sugar from Egypt — Jamaica — Statistics of yield 
of crops and shipments — Barbados crops — Tortola — St. Kitts — 
Analyses of sugar-canes — Dominica — Statistics of exports of sugar, 
molasses, and rum — Montserrat — St. Lucia — Grenada — St. Vincent 

— Statistics of exports — Trinidad — Progress of culture — Distribution 
of estates — Statistics of exports — Martinique ■ — Statistics of produc- 
tion — Account of the usines or central sugar factories on the island — 
Eeports on their worMnn; operations and financial results — St. Croix — 
Porto Eico — Shipments of sugar and molasses — Cuba — Crops and 
shipments 128 

Maple Sugar. — Description of the tree — Statistics of the sugar crop in 
the United States and Canada 211 

Palm Sugab. — Trees which yield it — General estimate of production of 
sugar — Details of yield and processes, &c., furnished under the section 
of The Useftil Palms 213 

Beeteoot Stjgae. — Statistics of production in Europe — Process of culti- 
vation and manufacture — Production and consumption in France — 
Cane sugar received in France 213 

Glucose, oe Starch Sugar. — Quantity made in Germany from potatoes ; 
in the United States from maize ' 217 

SoEGHUM Sugar.— Desciiption of the plant — Cultivated in Australia, 
France, Algeria, and the United States 218 



SECTION II. — The Useful Palms and theie Economic Peoducts. 

The Cocoanut Palm.— Instructions for planting — Soils best suited for it 

— Growth of the tree — Its enemies — Produce — Cultivated varieties 
of this palm — Uses of the fruit — Its medicinal properties — Chemical 
analysis — Copperah or copra — Cocoanut oil — Its uses — Statistics of 
imports into the United Kingdom — Particulars and cost of machinery for 
making the oil — Uses of the cocoanut shells — Cocoanut fibre or coir — 
Statistics of exports from Ceylon — Imports into the United Kingdom 

— Cost of machinery for preparing the fibre — Wide range of the cocoa- 



CONTENTS. 



ix 



PAGE 

nut palm — Production in Brazil and Malabar — Cocoanuts imported 
into Bengal — Statistics of products of the cocoanut palm exported from 
British. India — Statistics of trees and produce in Ceylon — Exports — 
Details for Cochin China, Straits Settlements, and the Eastern Archi- 
pelago ; Ne"w Caledonia, Pacific Islands, Tahiti, Marquesas, Navigators' 
Islands, Friendly Isles, Fiji and Tuamotus Archipelago; the West 
Indies, Jamaica, and Triaidad 220 

The Afeican Oil Pal:^!. — Description and distribution of the tree — Oil 
supply — Oil rivers — Mode of preparing the oil — Statistics of British 
trade in palm oil — Palm kernels — Value of the oil obtained from them 

— Analysis of the oilcake — Exports of palm kernels from Lagos , . 245 

The Gomuti Palm. — Description of the tree — Its commercial products — 
Ejoo fibre — Toddy or sweet sap — Sugar — Sago — Meal — Fruit as 
sweetmeats 248 

The Wild Date Palm of INDL4. — Different species of the Phccnix — Sugar- 
yielding species — Fruit species — Extent of the culture in India — ■ 
Tapping and extracting the juice — Processes of manufacturing the 
sugar — Native names for the kinds made: Kliaur, Nimphool, Dulloah, 
Gurpatta, Jerunnee, Dobarah — Implements used in tapping the tree — 
Classification of the date trees — Kinds of goor made from the sap — 
Estimates of yield — Manufacture of sugar from goor — Estimate of 
date-sugar crop . . . . 250 

The Palsiyka Palm. — Wide distribution — Acres under culture in Madras 

— Various uses of the palm — Its leaves — Toddy — Jaggery — Timber 

— Keliugoes — Punatoo or pulp of the fruit 263 

The Sago Palm. — Varieties of the tree — Its products — Farina — Fruit — 
Immense yield — Mode of collecting and preparing the sago — Statistics 
of exports from Borneo, Labuan, Celebes — Wide distribution of the 
tree over the Eastern Archipelago — Singapore the entrepot of manu- 
facture and export — Statistics of imports into the United Kingdom — 
Chief uses of sago • 267 

The Bastaed Sago, — Products : Sugar, sago, kittool fibre, for brush- 
making — Seeds used as beads — Sago from the Cycads 276 

The CAENArBA Palm op Brazil. — Its economic uses — Wax from the 
leaves — Its employment — Exports from Ceara and Aracati — Pre- 
paration of the wax — Fibre from the leaves — Its extensive employment 

— Useful as a paper-material — Wood useful 277 

The Betelnut Palm. — Wide distribution — Extensive commerce carried 
on ia the fruit — Average production — General use of the betelnut 
as a masticatory — Various native names for the palm — Statistics of 
exports from eastern ports — Quantity produced in various countries — 
Mode of preparation — Superior quality of the Mysore nut — Statistics 
of exports from Ceylon 282 

The Betel Peppee Leaf. — Its cultivation and use 285 

The Date Palm. — Its wide distribution — Produce of the tree — Nume- 
rous distinct varieties of dates — Production in Northern Africa, and 
mode of preserving the fruit — Other useful products of the palm — 
Number of date palms in Egypt and Tunis — Production in Bussorah — 
Varieties and prices — Consumption of dates in England 286 

The Spnrr Date of Afeica. — Its products 291 

The Wlne oe Bamboo Palm. — Its distribution — Use of the fibre of the 
leaves for mats, &c. — Sap for palm wine — Fruit for oil , . 291 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

The Doum Palm of Egypt.— Fruit edible — Kernel made into beads . , 291 

The Dwaep Palm. — Its distribution in Africa — Use of tbe leaves for 
paper-making — " Crin vegetal " or curled fibre — Its uses — Statistics 
of exports from Algeria 292 



SECTION III. — The Tropical Cereals and Starch-producing Plants. 

Indian Maize or Corn. — Wide distribution of the plant — Of American 
origin — Immense yield in the United States — Tlie produce equals the 
wheat crop of the whole earth — Prejudice against corn meal — Its use, 
however, extending in Europe — Large proportion of oil in maize — 
Chemical composition of differeut varieties — Broad divisions of maize 
into table maize and farm maize — Use of the stem and leaves for paper- 
making — Sorts best adapted for maize — Names of varieties grown — 
Instructions for culture — Planting corn — Preparation of the soil — 
Statistics of crops in the United States — Imports into the United 
Kingdom — Production in Australia — Description of the principal 
varieties of maize grown — Food preparations of maize — Various 
economic applications of the grain — Sugar from the saccharine sap — 
Chica, or maize beer — Food for stock — Grain sometimes so plentiful 
as to be biu-ned for fuel — Production in France, in Italy, in Hungary, 
in Greece and Algeria — Maize starch, or corn flour 295 

Rice. — ^Most extensively diffused and useful of the grain crops — Com- 
mercial qualities — Statistics of imports into the United Kingdom — 
Enumeration of botanical species and varieties of rice — Analyses and 
chemical composition of various rices — Growth of rice in Italy — 
Statistics of exports to India — Extensive culture in — Three recognised 
classes of paddy in Bengal, with more than 1100 varieties — Loss in 
husking paddy, one-third to half — Statistics of consumption in Bengal 
and Behar— Average yield — Comparative results of irrigation and dry- 
crops — Comparative yield in various countries — Statistics of exports, 
and their nature, from India — The Burmese recognise a hundred 
varieties of rice — Exports of rice from India, distinguishing Indian 
and foreign ports — Countries to which sent — Siam : Statistics of pro- 
duction and exports — China : System of culture — Growtli in Formosa 

— Mode of husking or cleaning rice — Japan : Statistics of production 

— Eice wine, or sake — Java : Kinds of rice cultivated — Acreage under 
rice — Exports — Culture in Borneo and the Philippines — Statistics of 
production in the Eastern Archipelago in 1874 — Growth in Africa — 
Rice grounds of Egypt, Brazil, United States — Statistics of exports — 
Rice crops at various periods — South Carolina and Georgia — Louisiana 

— Progress made — Statistics of rice production in the diiferent States 
of the Republic — Exports for a series of years — Upland rice — Land 
under culture in various countries with rice 313 

The Millets, or Small-seeded Food-grains. — Our imports of these — 
A third part of the inhabitants of the globe feed on the millets — 
Various uses to which they are applied — Great confusion in their bota- 
nical classification — Enumerated species by Professor Parlatore — 
Great Indian millet, or Guinea corn — The yellow Cholum, or Jowaree 
of India — Chemical composition of its grain and the plant — Useful as 



a fodder plant — Acreage under millet in Madras — Red Cholum, 
Dhurra, or Dourah — Land under culture with it in Algeria — Sorghum, 
known as Kafir corn in Natal — Acreage and produce 335 

The Sugar Millet " .. .. 218 

Broom Corn or Millet. — Its range of culture — Grown in Italy and 
in the United States for its panicle, used in brush-making — Mode of 
cultivation 339 



CONTENTS. xi 

• ' PAGE 

The Panicums 340 

Italian Millet .. .. 340 

Chena oe Indian Millet; Veragoo .. .. 340 

Shamay, or Little Millet .. 340 

Sawa Millet • ..341 

CuMBOO, OR Spiked Millet. — Mode of culture — Composition of the 
grain ,. 341 

Raggy, or Eaggee 342 

KoDA Millet ..342 

Teff 342 

Starch-producing Plants. — Description of the varieties of starches, and 
their distinctive characters — Statistics of imports of Arrowroot into the 
United Kingdom — Cultivation and manufacture in Bermuda and 
Jamaica — Statistics of export — St. Kitts — St. Vincent — Large 
progress in the production — Culture and manufacture in Natal — 
Statistics of exports — Production in India 343 

Australian Arrowroot. — Production in Victoria, New South Wales, and 
Queensland 348 

Tacga Plant of the Pacific Islands 349 

Manioc, or Cassava Starch. — Where grown — Soils best suited to the 
plant — Two defined species, but numerous varieties — Preparation of 
the meal and fecula for market — Culture in Brazil — Statistics of 
Tapioca — Exports from Brazil — Imports of Tapioca into the United 
Kingdom from the Straits Settlements 349 

Japanese Starches 352 

Cilvyote 353 



SECTION IV.— The Principal Vegetable Dye-Stuffs of Commerce. 

Indigo. — Various kinds produced — Statistics of imports into the United 
Kingdom — With re-exports — Sources of supply — Plants yielding the 
dye-stuff — Modes of manufacture in India — Culture of the plant — 
Tests of good indigo — Exports from India ^ — Money value of the crop — 
Extension of the culture — Cost of cultivation — Cochin China, mode of 



production — Siam — China — Japan — Java — Statistics of production 
and quality of the indigo — The Philippines — Africa — Southern States 
of America — Colombia — Costa Rica — Guatemala — Nicaragua — Cen- 
tral America — British imports from thence — New Granada — Statistics 
of shipments — Venezuela 354 

Madder. — History and production — Influence of the coal-tar dyes — 
Naples madder — French madder — Statistics of production — Garancine 
— Dutch madder, annual yield — Russian madder — United States — 
Imports into the United Kingdom 369 

Munjeet. — Description of * 374 

Ghay Root. — Its growth and use 374 

Safplower. — Its production and uses — European, Indian, and Chinese — 
Mode of culture and preparation — Use of the seeds — Statistics of im- 
ports of safllower into England 374 



i 



xii 



CONTENTS. 



PAGB 

Sappeon. — "Where grown — Its cultivation and preparation — Peculiar 
soil required — Analysis of it — Production and export from France . . 379 

TuEMEETC. — Commercial varieties of — Its uses — British imports . . . . 382 

CuTCH. — Trees yielding it — Mode of preparation — Statistics of exports 
from Pegu and Burmah — Imports into the United Kingdom 384 

Gambiee.— Plants producing it — Mode of manufacture — Exports from 
Singapore — Imports into the United Kingdom 387 

Annotta. — Growth and preparation — Uses — Land under culture with 
it in the French colonies — British imports 388 

Henna. — Uses of the dye — Extent of the production — Plants which 
produce it 390 

Alkanet Koot. — Its uses 391 



SECTION V. — The Oil-seeds and Vegetable Oils op Commerce. 

The Olive. — Distribution of the tree — Statistics of exports of olive oil 
from the principal countries — Imports into the United Kingdom — 



Production in Italy — Imports and consumption at Marseilles — Pro- 
duction in Balearic Islands — Syria — Greece — Cape Colony — France 

— Spain — Algeria — Morocco — Tunis 392 

Linseed Oil. — Preparation and mode of expression — Quantity produced 

— Imports of flax seed — Exports of seed-oils — Statistics of production 
and consumption in France 399 

The Geound-nut. — Its production in different countries — Statistics of 
imports at Marseilles — Growth and exports of the ground-nut from the 
Gambia Country, West Africa — Shipments from Sierra Leone to France 

— Use of the oil' — Analysis of ground-nut meal — Sold as peanuts in 
the United States — Quantities grown in America, in India, Mozambique, 
and Senegal 400 

Cotton-seed Oil.— Immense quantity of seed available in various countries 

— Large export from Egypt — British imports of cotton seed — Oil-seed 
cakes — Great varieties produced — Statistics of imports of foreign made 404 

The Castoe Oil Plant. — Variety of species — Preparation of the oil — 
Statistics of imports 405 

Eape Seed. — Mode of culture in France — Extent of land under colza — . 
Statistics of colza oil — Imports of rape seed into the United Kingdom — 
Production of oil and oil-seeds in France 408 

MusTAED Seed.— Species cultivated — The mustard of commerce — Large 
quantity made in France — Colza and ravison seeds imported into 
Marseilles 411 

Sapplowee Oel. — Its production and uses 412 

Sesame Seed. — Its growth and employment — Diflferent names given to it 

— Yield of oil — Large quantities of the seed received in Marseilles — 
Oilcake made from it 412 

NiGEE Seed. — Its uses — Production of oil in the United States — Im- 
mense trade in oil-seeds, oils, and oilcake in Maiseilles — Statistics of 
oil-seeds shipped from India 415 

Gold op PLEAsrEE, oe Ca3ielina Seed. — Culture of the plant . . . . 416 



Sunplowee-seed Oil. — Culture and production — Yield and uses of the 
plant — Oilcake — Extensive production inEussia, and statistics of seed 417 



CONTENTS. 



XIU 



PAGE 

Candle Nuts. — Trees yielding them — Analysis of the nut and of the oil- 



cake — The oil obtained from it — Its uses 419 

Japan Wax. — Trees which produce it — Preparation and uses — Prices 
— Statistics of exports 421 

Poppy-seed Oil. — Growth and production 422 

Melon-seed Oil.— Statistics of production 423 

Physic Nut. — Description of oil production in the Azores — Various names 
given to the seeds . . 423 

CuoTON Oil 424 

Chinese Oils. — Plants which yield them — Bean oil and bean-cake — 
trade in them — Land under culture with oil-seeds in Madras . . , . 424 

Oil op Ben .. 425 



SECTION VI. — The Peinoipal Fruits op Commerce. 

Vine Culture and the Grape. — Imports of grapes into the United King- 
dom — Preparation of raisins and commerce in them — Quantity of wine 
consumed in the United Kingdom — Land under culture with the vine 
in various countries — Exports of wine from ditto — Statistics of produc- 
tion of wine in France — Culture of the vine in Algeria — In the United 
States — Production of wine in California — Varieties of grapes grown — 
Export of raisins — Statistics of wine production in the Cape Colony — 
in Australia — Acreage under vines.— History of wine manufacture in 
South Australia — Production of currants and raisins — Vine culture in 



New South Wales — in Victoria — in Queensland 426 

Products op the Orange Family. — Wide extent of culture — Statistics 
of imports of oranges and lemons into the United Kingdom — Sources of 
supply — Great number of species and varieties of the Orange family — 



Description of them — Essential oils — Citron — Lemon — Trade in them 

— Lime juice — Statistics of production — Imports of oranges and 
lemons into France — Production in Algeria — in the Azores — Statistics 
of exports — New South Wales — Orange groves of Parramatta — Profits 
made — Mode of culture — Production in South Australia — in Florida 

— in California — Culture and trade of the Bahamas — Shipments of 
oranges from Tahiti — Fruit trade of Italy — Collecting and packing 
the fruit — Average yield per tree — Essence of lemon — Lemon juice 
and candied citron peel — Statistics of exports — Oranges shipped from 
Spain — Fruit trade of Antwerp 438 

The Pine- apple. — Its growth in England — Varieties cultivated — Ex- 
tensive culture in the Bahamas — Large production of fruit for export — 
Season for shipment — Mode of packing — Extensive trade carried on 
in tinning the fruit — Mode of preparing — Statistics of pine-apples 
shipped to the United States — Prospects of increase of fruit trade in 
Jamaica — Profits on culture — Shipments from the Azores — Fine fruit, 
and mode of packing — Introduction of tlie pine-apple into India — 
Pine-apple fibre, mode of preparation — Beautiful fine fabrics made of it 
in the Philippines — Manufacture in the Straits Settlements — Fibre of 
the Bromelias, or wild pine- apples — Extensive ditfusion of these plants 

— Uses to which applied 448 

The Plantain and Banana. — Importance and utility of the Musa tribe 

— The plantain as food — Extent of diffusion of the plantain — The 
wild seed-bearing plantain — The Banana — Number of varieties — ■ 
Chemical analysis of the fruit of the plantain — The horse plantain — 
Large consumption in Trinidad — Geographical distribution of the 
species — Soil best suited for its culture — Establishing a plantain walk 



xiv 



CaNTENTS. 



— Enormous return from — Mode of using and preserving the fruit — 
Some have been kept good sixteen years — Fibre from the stem — The 
trade in plantains from Panama to New York — Plantain meal, or Con- 
quintay — Plantain starch — Various uses of the stalk — Properties of 
the sap — Machinery for preparing plantain fibre — Mode of preparation 
in Jamaica — Manila hemp of commerce — Description of the plantain 
which produces it — Grades of fibre obtained, and native names — 
Fabrics made with it — Native name for the fibre " Abaca " — Yield of 
fibre — Mode of preparing it — Machines proposed — Statistics of ex- 
ports from the Philippines — Direct imports into the United Kingdom . . 455 

SECTION VII.— The Spices of Commekce. 

Peppeb. — Its uses — Commercial varieties — Production in the Eastern 
Archipelago — Imports into China — Production in Siam — Cochin China 

— Statistics of imports at Marseilles — Production in the Straits Settle- 
ments — British imports therefrom — Culture in Malabar and Travancore 

— Growth and preparation — Culture in Sumatra — Statistics of imports 
and consumption in the United Kingdom 474 

Chillies and Cayenne Pepper. — Species of plants grown — Large pro- 
duction in India — Our som-ces of supply . . 479 

Ginger. — Production and consumption of this spice — Varieties entering 
into commerce — Our sources of supply — Statistics of imports and 
value for the United Kingdom — Culture and preparation in Jamaica 

— Statistics of export — Cultui-e in India — Quantity exported — African 
ginger — Exports from Sierra Leone — System of cultivation and pre- 
paration in India — Preserved ginger — Mode of preparation, and 



statistics of imports from China 481 

Nutmegs and Mace. — Description of the tree — Statistics of imports of 
Nutmegs into the United Kingdom — Production in the Banda Islands — 
in the Straits Settlements — Exports from Pinang — Production annihi- 
lated — Singapore an entrepot — Shipments from Sumatra — Nutmegs 
in Jamaica — Wild nutmegs — Nutmeg butter or concrete oil — Mace, 
statistics of production and British imports 484 

Cassia and other Spice Barks. — Aromatic products of the Laurel family 
— Various spice barks, leaves, and berries 489 

Cassia Bark. — Cassia lignea, trees which yield it — Their difiusion — 
Mode of peeling — Statistics of imports — Re-exports — Shipments from 
Canton — Spices received from China — Statistics of imports 490 

Cassia BrDS. — Their uses and statistics of imports — Shipments from 
Canton 492 

Cinnamon. — Propagation and preparation of the bark in Ceylon — Various 
products of the tree — System of culture and stripping the bark — 
Cinnamon oil — Statistics of exports from Ceylon 492 

Vanilla. — Orchids which jdeld the trade-product — Preparation — Com- 
parative yield — Production in Guatemala, Guadaloupe, Brazil — Im- 
ports into the United Kingdom — Uses of vanilla — Description of tiie 
pod — Production in Reunion — Land under culture, and statistics of 
exports — Range of prices — Mauritius, statistics of exports — Culti- 
vation in Java — Other aromatic orchids 498 

Pimento. — Culture in Jamaica — Statistics of exports from the island — 
Mode of collection and preparation for shipment 503 

Cloves. — Sources of production — Imports into the United Kingdom . . 505 

Index 507 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



Works consulted on th3 siibjects treated of. 

Cocoa and its Manufactuee. By John Holm. London, George Eivers. 
HiSTOiRB Naturelle du Cacao et du Sucre. Amsterdam, 1720. 
A Manual op Coffee Planting. By W. H. Middleton. Adams and Co., 
Natal, 1866. 

An Historical Account op Coffee. By John Ellis. London, 1774. 

Coffee and Chicory. By P. L. Simmonds. London, Spon. 

Coffee Planting in Ceylon — Past and Present. By G. C. Lewis. Colombo 

Examiner Office, 1855. 
A Manual op Coffee Planting. By W. H. Middleton. Adams and Co., 

Durban, Natal, 1866. 
Du Cafe, son Histoeique, son Usage, son Utilitk, &g. Par A. Chevalier. 

Paris, 1862. 

Report on Coffee Cultivation in Dominica. By H. Prestoe. Trinidad, 1875. 
The Coffee Planter op Ceylon. By Wm. Sabonadiere. London, Spon, 1870. 
Breves Consideracobs sobre a Historia e Cultura do Cafeiro e Consumo 

DE SEU Productos. By Dr. N. J. Moreira. Eio Janeiro, 1873. 
Handbook for the Cultivation and Manufacture op Tea in Java. By 

J. J. L. L. Jacobson. (' Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society 

of India,' vol. xiii., Part III.) 
Prize Essay on the Cultivation and Manufacture op Tea in Cachar. 

By H. A. Shipp. (From the ' Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural 

Society of India,' vol. xiv. Supplementary number,) 
Prize Essay on the Cultivation and Manufacture op Tea. By Lt.-Col. E. 

Money. Calcutta, Wyman and Co., 1874. 
Remarks on the Pruning of Tea. By George King, M.B., &c. (' Journal of 

the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India,' vol. iii.. Part I.) 
The Tea-Bug of Assam. By S. E. Peat, Esq. (' Journal of the Agricultural 

and Horticultural Society of India,' vol. iv.. Part I., N.S.) 
A Short Guide to Planters cultivating Teas in the Himalayas and 

KoHiSTAN OF THE PuNJAB. By Dr. Jamicson. 
Ball on the Cultivation and Manufacture of Tea. 
Fortune's Visit to the Tea Districts of China and India, 1852. 8vo. 
Papers regarding the Tea Industry in Bengal. Calcutta, Secretariat Press, 

1873. 

Tea Cultivation in India. By Col. W. Nassau Lees, LL.D. London, 1863. 
8vo. 

Etude Economique sue le Mate ou The du Paeaguay. Par le Dr. A. 

Demersay. Paris, 1867. 
De la Culture de la Canne et de la Production du Sucre a l'Ile de 

LA Reunion. Par M. Malavois. Paris, J. Louvier, 1861. 
Guide pratique de la Culture de la Canne k Sucre, du Capier et du 

Cacaoyee. Par Bourgoin d'Orli. Paris. 
Guide pratique du Fabricant du Sucre. Par N. Basset. 3 vols. Paris, 

60 Rue Madame. 

Ensayo sobre el Cultivo de la Cana de Azucar, Par M. Alvaro Reynoso. 

Madrid, 2nd edicion, 1865. 
A Treatise on the Manufacture op Sugar from the Sugar-cane. By 

Peter Soames. London, Spon, 1872. 



xvi 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



Notes on the Sugar-cane and the Manufacture op Sugar in the "West 
Indies. By A. W. Anderson. Trinidad, W. Herbert, 1860. 

Notice sur la Culture de la Canne et Fabrication du Sucre en Louisiane. 
Par B. Dureau. Paris, 1852. 

Eecherches sur le Jus de la Canne a Sucre, Par Dr. leery. Memoire 
presents a la Chambre d' Agriculture de I'lle Maurice, 1865. 

Ann ALES de l' Agriculture des Colonies. Paris. 

Art de l'Indigotier. Par G. S. Perottet. Paris, 1842. 

Catalogues des Produits des Colonies Fran§aise aux Expositions de Londres, 

1862, et de Paris, 1867. 
L'Olivier, sa Culture et ses Produtts. Par H. Raibaud - L'Ange', 1861. 

Paris, Veuve Bouchard-Huzard. 
The Olive and its Products. By Lewis A. Bernays, F.L.S. Queensland. 
MoNOGKAFiA SULLA Fabricazione degli Olii d'Uliva. By Domenico Capponi. 

Genoa. 

Classification de 160 Huiles et Graisses Vegetales. Par M. Bernardin. 
Etat actuel de l'Algerie. Alger, Bouyer, 1862. 

Manuel d' Agriculture pratique Algerienne. Par Emile Cardon. Paris. 
Journal de l'Agriculture des Pats Chauds. Par Paul Madinier. Paris, 
1860-67. 

L' Agriculture de la Guyane, Eefniox, &c. Par Dr. Sagot. Paris, 1869-74. 
La Gutanb-Fran^aise. Par J. F. H. Mourie. Paris, 1875. 
Classification de 250 Fecules. Par M. Bernardin. Gand, C. Annoot-Bi*aeck- 
man, 1874. 

Lecture on the Edible Starches of Commerce, their Production and 
Consumption. By P. L. Simmonds. Journal of the Society of Arts, vol. xxi. 
p. 346. 1873. 

Effort on New Starch Substances. By Dr. Van Den Corput. Bruxelles, 

Weissenbrucli, 1857. 
La Production Animale et Vegetale. Etudes faites a I'Exposition Uni- 

verselle de 1867. Paris, E. Dentu. 
Observations on the Vegetable Products of Ceylon. By W. C. Oondatje. 
Proceedings of the Conferences held by the India Committee of the 

Society of Arts, 1869. 
Economic Products op the Punjaub. By Baden Powell. 
SiMMONDs's Journal op Applied Science. 8 vols. 
SiMMONDs's Technologist. 6 vols. London. 

Sorghum and its Products. By F. L. Stewart. Philadelphia, Lippincott 
and Co., 1867. 

Statistical Abstract of the Colonial and other Possessions op the 
United Kingdom. 12 numbers to 1875. London, Eyre and Spottiswoode. 

Papers relating to Her Majesty's Colonial Possessions. London, Eyre 
and Spottiswoode. 

Tahiti. Eecherches sur les Principales Productions Vegetales de l'Ile. 

Par G. Cuzent. Eochefort, C. Theze, 1860. 
Statebients exhibiting the Moral and Material Progress and Condition 

of India for the Years 1873-74-75. 
Statebient of the Trade of British India with British Possessions and 

Foreign Countries for the Five Years ending 1875. London, Eyre and 

Spottiswoode, 1876. 
The Indian Agriculturist. Calcutta, 1876-1877. 
Agricultural Gazette of India. 3 vols. 
Useful Plants of India. By Col. H. Drury. London, Allen. 
Le Dattier, sa Description, son Histoiee, &c. Par G. Dechevalerie. Gand, 

C. Annoat-Braeckmann, 1873. 



COMMERCIAL PEODUCTS 

OF THE 

VEGETABLE KINGDOM, 



SECTION I, 



PLANTS YIELDING SEEDS, LEAVES, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES 
EMPLOYED IN DOMESTIC USE FOE THE PKEPARATION OF 
DIETETIC BEVERAGES, ETC. 

No substances are so essentially necessary and useful to mankind, 
and form such, important articles of commerce, as those which I 
propose first to consider, Cacao, Coffee, Tea, and Sugar. The con- 
sumption of these in all civilized countries is immense, notwith- 
standing that in many they have been fettered with heavy fiscal 
duties. The description of the culture of the plants from which 
they are obtained, the manufacture of the products, and the statistics 
of commerce, are the subjects to which it is intended to give most 
attention, glancing only incidentally or occasionally at their early 
history. 

COCOA. 

Botanical Description and Chemistry of Cocoa. — The cacao, or cocoa, 
of commerce is the seed of an evergreen tree, the TJieohroma Cacao 
(Lin.), growing from twelve to twenty feet high. There are nine 
or ten other species, however, enumerated by botanists, of which 
I may name T. angustifolia, Dec, and T. ovatifolia, Dec. (the 
Soconosco), of Mexico ; T. hicolor, Humboldt, of New Granada ; T. 
Guianensis, Aublet, of Guiana ; T. Caribcea, of the West Indies ; and 
T. microcarpa, Mart. ; T. ovatifolia, speciosa, Willd., Para ; T. subin- 
cana and sylvestris, Martins, of Brazil. 

The fruit, or pod, resembles a short, thick cucumber, and contains 
from twenty to forty seeds enclosed in a pulp, somewhat like that of 
a water-melon. This pulp is frequently used for food and sweet- 
meats ; vinegar is also made of it. In the Brazilian collections at 
the various International Exhibitions, spirits, liqueurs, jellies, &c., 
made with cocoa, have been shown. 

B 



2 



COCOA. 



Wlien Cortez and the Spaniards entered the vast empire of Monte- 
zuma, tliey found the use of cocoa or chocolate as a beverage common. 
The emperor, however, alone drank it flavoured with vanilla from a 
golden cup. A legend surrounds with religious veneration this sacred 
beverage, and when Cortez sent to Charles V. the principal products of 
the New World, he did not omit cocoa as the most healthy of the beve- 
rages which Spain obtained by its conquests. The conquerors were 
not slow to appreciate its excellent qualities, and introduced it into 
Spain. 

Spain, however, for some time depended on the colonies for the 
manufactured article, but when the art of preparing it was conveyed 
there, the raw material was also imported. The Spaniards, by 
jealously guarding as a secret the mode of manufacture, were able 
to retain the monopoly of the trade in chocolate for many years. 

The value of chocolate was speedily appreciated by the physicians 
of Europe, and Hoffmann wrote a monograph treating of it, entitled 
' Potus Chocolati,' in which he recommends it in many diseases, and 
instances the case of Cardinal Eichelieu, who, he states, was cured of 
general atrophy by its use. 

It was probably more than a century after the introduction of cocoa 
into Europe before the English became acquainted with it. Accord- 
ing to Mr. Hewett, the earliest mention of its use appears in a news- 
paper called Needham's ' Mercurius Politicus,' dated the 16th of June, 
1659. For many years England continued to import all the chocolate 
she consumed in its manufactured state ; but I believe about the 
commencement of last century several persons commenced the manu- 
facture in this country. There is very strong reason to believe that 
a knowledge of the mode of preparation was brought into England by 
Sir Hans (then Dr.) Sloane. 

Cocoa or chocolate is, without exception, of all domestic drinks, 
the most alimentary, and the Spaniards esteem it so necessary to the 
health and support of the body, tLat it is considered the severest 
punishment to withhold it, even from criminals ; nay, to be unable to. 
procure chocolate is deemed the greatest misfortune in life. The 
signs by which good chocolate or cocoa is known are these. It should 
dissolve entirely in water, and be without sediment ; should be oily 
and yet sweet in the mouth, and if genuine and carefully prepared, 
should deposit no grits or grounds. 

The bean of the cocoa owes its properties in the first place to an 
azotised substance, theobromine, and next to the ternary compounds 
oil and starch. It also contains a large quantity of phosphate of lime, 
which adds no doubt to its qualities as food. The quantity of volatile 
substance it contains is small, though it may, to some slight degree, 
be increased by roasting. 

The chemical composition of cocoa is shown in a table printed at 
page 4, which gives the different analyses of any importance that have 
been made. 

The results given are not very flattering to chemical science, the 
analyses being of the most contradictory character, and containing 
discrepancies which cannot be at all reconciled with each other. It 
appears to me that the analysis prepared by Dr. Playfair is the most 



COCOA. 



3 



correct, while those of Tuchen and Muter are the least so. We thus 
see that, taking the most important constituents, cocoa contains : 

Parts. 



Cocoa butter 50 

Albuminoid substances 20 

Starch, sugar, &c 13 

Salts 4 

Theobromine 2 

Other substances 11 



100 

Examining these in the order of their importance, we first notice 
the fat, or cocoa butter, which forms about half the substance of the 
nibs. It is a hard, fatty material, which, when clarified, is of a dead 
white colour. Its melting point is about 100° Fahr., which, being the 
heat of the body, renders it of great value for therapeutical purposes. 
This fat never becomes rancid, however long it may be kept, a quality 
peculiar to itself. It is hardly necessary to point out how valuable 
this property is, for it places cocoa butter first in the list of the fatty 
class of our carbonaceous or heat-giving foods. The albuminoid con- 
stituents form about 20 per cent, of the nib. These are classed 
amongst the nitrogenous principles of food, and their presence 
renders cocoa one of the richest flesh-formers we have. The starch, 
gum, and sugar present, like the cocoa butter, belong to the non- 
azotised principles; they form about 13 per cent, of the whole. 
The alkaloid of cocoa, theobromine, is very similar in its physiolo- 
gical effects to its analogues, tJieine and cajfeine, from which it differs 
but slightly in chemical composition. 



Essential Alkaloid Peinciples. 



Yielded by 


Name, 


Composition. 


Proportion. 




Theobromine 


0, H3 N, 0, 


2 per cent. 


Coffee 


Caffeine 




Tea 


Theine 


1 All identical 


|l to 5 per cent. 




Guaranine 


1 C3 H,oN, 0, 




Theine 


In less quantities. 



In regard to these alkaloids, it is interesting to note that through- 
out the world the instinct of man has led him to seek some substance 
that contains one of these principles, which owe their value to the 
specific influence they exert on the nervous system, stimulating it and 
checking waste of tissue. Theobromine, when extracted, presents the 
form of a white crystalline powder of almost amorphous character, 
differing from caffeine and ifeeme, which have a very beautiful crystal- 
line appearance. 

In most of the analyses of cocoa the existence of a volatile oil has 
been overlooked. It is probably present only in small quantities, 
and appears to be developed by roasting ; but upon it depends the 
flavour and aroma which exist in cOcoa.* 

* Mr. John Holm " On Cocoa and its Manufacture," * Journal of the Society of 
Arts,' vol. xxii. p. 356. 1874. 

B 2 



4: 



COCOA. 




COCOA. 



5 



Mr. Charles Heiscli, F.C.S., in a paper " On the Composition of 
Various Kinds of Cocoa," * observes : " It is well known that different 
varieties of cocoa fetch very different prices ; but as far as I am 
aware, no careful examination has been made to ascertain if these 
variations are caused by any difference in their composition regarded 
as articles of food, or if they be due solely to differences in flavour, 
which, after all, may be only matters of taste. In none of the pub- 
lished analyses of cocoa which I have seen is any mention made of the 
kind of bean analysed, it is therefore not surprising that the results 
published vary very considerably. Thus, while in Dr. Hassall's book 
we are told that cocoa contains albuminoid matter 16*7 per cent. ; in 
Dr. Parkes' Practical Hygiene it is stated to contain from 13 to 18 
per cent, of protein substance. In neither case is it mentioned 
whether the bean was examined raw or after roasting. Having 
through the kindness of a friend obtained samples of various cocoa 
beans, both raw and roasted, which he assured me were unmixed, I 
made a number of analyses of the roasted beans. The results are 
shown in the following table. They are not so complete as I had 





Per- 
centage 
of Husk. 


Result op Examination of Roasted Bean after Removal of Husk. 


Fat. 


Nitro- 
gen. 


Albumi 
noid 
sub- 
stances. 


Ash. 


Ash 
soluble 

in 
water. 


Ash 
soluble 
in HCl. 


Phosphoric 
Acid in 
Ash, cal- 
culated as 
H3 PO^. 


Mois- 
ture. 


Starch. 
Gum, 
CelIu-5 
lose, &c. 


Caracas 


13-8 


48-4 


1-76 


11-14 


3-95 


2-15 


1-80 


1-54 


4-32 


32-19 


Trinidadt .. 


15-5 


49-4 


1-76 


11-14 


2-80 


-9 


1-90 


-93 


3-84 


32-82 


Surinam , . 


15-5 


54-4 


1-76 


11-14 


2-35 


-80 


1-55 


1-23 


3-76 


28-35 


Guayaquil . . 


11-5 


49-8 


2-06 


13-03 


3-50 


1-75 


1-75 


1-87 


4-14 


30-47 


Grenada , . 


14-6 


45-6 


1-96 


12-40 


2-40 


•60 


1-80 


1-35 


3-90 


35-70 


Bahia 


9-6 


50-3 


1-17 


7-40 


2-60 


•90 


1-70 


1-26 


4-40 


35-30 


Cuba .. 


12-0 


45-3 


1-37 


8-67 


2-90 


-95 


1-95 


1-13 


3-72 


39-41 


Para .. 


8-5 


54-0 


2-00 


12-66 


3-05 


1^40 


1-65 


1-00 


3-96 


26-33 



f 1 am inclined to think that the Trinidad sample was not of the finest quality. 



hoped to make them, but they comprise the more important con- 
stituents. In the first column of the table is noted the proportion of 
husk in the several varieties. This difference appears to be mainly 
due to the husk in some kinds being much thicker than in others ; in 
all cases these thick husks separate more readily from the bean in the 
process of roasting, and can be taken off with much greater facility. 
The other estimations are made on the roasted bean after removal of 
the husk. The albuminoids are calculated from the total nitrogen 
found by combustion with soda lime ; the nitrogen contained in the 
theobromine is thus included, but in the roasted bean this is so small 
that the difference is hardly worth consideration ; hereafter I hope to 
estimate the theobromine in the different varieties, as well as the 
starch, gum, cellulose, &c. It will be observed that in none of the 
above samples do the albuminoid substances reach the amount men- 
tioned by Hassall or Parkes, but as neither of them give the method 
by which the albuminoids were ascertained, no attempt can be made 
to account for the difference. The amount of these substances in 
* The 'Analyst' for Oct. 31, 1876. 



6 



COCOA. 



Para cocoa, wliicli is about the lowest-priced variety, is, with one ex- 
ception, the highest in the table, so that, viewed as an article of food, 
it is superior to some of the more expensive kinds. The soluble ash 
consists, to a great extent, of phosphate of potash, the phosphoric acid 
in the portion insoluble in water being mostly, if not entirely, 
combined with magnesia." 

The cocoa production of the world may be set down as follows, 
according to the latest returns : 

Lbs. 

Brazil 7,000,000 

Venezuela 7,000,000 

Equador 28,000,000 

Trinidad 11,000,000 

Grenada 2,419,424 

Dominica 189,782 

St. Lucia 255,614 

Jamaica 50,512 

French Guiana .. .. ,. 66,000 

Guadaloupe 206,000 

Martinique 686,000 

St. Vincent and Hayti .. .. 550,000 

Mexico .. ' 2,000,000 

Celebes 250,000 

Production and Consumption. — Cocoa and chocolate are compara- 
tively little used in this country, compared with the other articles 
employed for dietetic beverages. The quantity taken for consumption 
last year (1875) was nearly 10,000,000 lbs., or rather more than a 
quarter of a pound for each person of the population. Still, it is 
gradually on the increase, as will be seen by the following statistics, 
showing the annual quantity consumed, and the percentage of con- 
sumption per head of the population in the kingdom. 

When we consider that the imports of cocoa into this country in 
each of the years 1873 and 1874, were over 18,000,000 lbs., there was 
an abundant supply to fall back upon, had there been a commensurate 
demand. Looking at the small consumption here, and that there is 
only the Continental market to depend upon, there is but little 
encouragement to our colonial planters to extend the production. 

The value of the cocoa imported annually into the United Kingdom 
is about 500,000Z. The quantity now received here ranges between 
18,000,000 and 19,000,000 lbs., one-half of which is kept for use in 
Great Britain. 

The following gives the quantity of cocoa annually retained for 
consumption in the United Kingdom, and the average consumption 
per head of the population : 



Year. 



1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 
1846 
1847 



Lbs. 



2,041,678 
1,928,847 
2,246,569 
2,547,934 
2,589,977 
2,579,497 
2,951,206 
3,079,198 



Lb. 



0-08 
0-07 
0-08 
0-09 
0-09 
0-09 
0-11 
0-11 



1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 



Lbs. 



2,919,591 
3,206,746 
3,080,641 
2,978,344 
3,328,527 
3,997,198 
4,452,529 
4,383,023 



Lb. 



0-10 
0-12 
0-11 
0-11 
0-12 
0-15 
016 
0-16 



COCOA. 



7 



Year. 


Lbs. 


Lb. 


Year. 


Lbs. 


Lb. 


1856 


3,634,135 


0-13 


i 

1 1866 


4,053,133 


0-14 


1857 


2,647,470 


0-09 


1 1867 


4,228,654 


0-14 


1858 


2,860,034 


0-10 


1868 


5,115,943 


0-17 


1859 


3,013,859 


0-11 


1869 


5,701,880 


0-19 


1860 


3,230,978 


0-11 


1870 


6,153,981 


0-20 


1861 


3,407,672 


0-12 


1871 


7,252,035 


0-23 


1862 


3,622,433 


0-12 


1872 


7,791 ,763 


0-24 


1863 


3,712,231 


0-13 


1873 


8,284,260 


0-26 


1864 


3,862,273 


0-13 


1874 


8,854,690 


0-27 


1865 


3,826,425 


0-13 


1875 


9,957,610 


0-30 



Culture in Trinidad.— The distance at which the trees should 
stand apart will be modified to some extent by the altitude at which 
they grow, and by the different habit of growth or the different 
varieties — the trees usually being smaller and of more compact habit 
as altitude increases, some varieties have an erect, and some a spread- 
ing habit — but it will range from ten to thirty feet. 

The first pruning should consist of removing all weaker branches 
which happen to cross each other closely, and the branchlets (smaller 
branches) to such an extent as to leave the principal branches free of 
each other, and as much as possible, radiating regularly from the 
centre of the tree. 

The smaller of the principal branches should also be removed 
where they are crowded ; and in larger trees, all branches which 
have a downward tendency, so that a regular canopy of branch and 
foliage may be formed overhead, supported on fruitful column-like 
stems. 

The growth of every tree over four or five years old will be at 
least two feet in the spread all round in one year, until the full 
dimensions are reached. 

The best months for pruning in the West Indies are March and 
April, but pruning of large branches may be done in August and 
September, should the branches have no young fruit to sacrifice. The 
model form of a cocoa tree, and which should always be kept in view 
by the grower — either with regard to trees to be renovated or young 
plants — is this ; a straight single stem up to three feet from the ground, 
and dividing into two or three as it grows higher ; each of these 
again dividing into two or three branches, make up the framework or 
principal branches which termiuate numerously in the leafy branchlets 
regularly disposed into a well-formed head. The tree uninterfered 
with from the beginning will assume to itself more or less accurately 
this mode of growth — termed trichotomous by botanists — which being 
innate with it, the model is of very easy attainment, and ensures the 
greatest possible production of fruit in the least possible space. 

The cocoa tree is a deep rooter, and therefore soils of the second 
class, and those of the valleys — especially where they are much 
broken — are best suited to it. 

Aspect is a most important consideration in the culture of cocoa in 
all countries, and it does not thrive in valleys of easterly and northerly 



8 



COCOA. 



aspect. In Trinidad tlie quality of the produce is modified by various 
modes of treatment wlien prepared for the market. 

The best quality irrespective of treatment is produced by the 
CrioUo cocoa of the Spanish inhabitants, who almost monopolize this 
cultivation, and it is getting scarce. The pods are smaller than those 
of the better varieties of other kinds, but the seeds are thicker, 
shorter, and almost globular. The interior of the seed is of a pale 
crimson, toning down into pink, and the taste slightly bitter. 

The Forastero kinds are here much prized ; there is the Cundeamar 
of two kinds, one with yellow, the other with red pods. The former 
are sooner fit for drying ; it has the largest seeds, which are easily 
fermented and prepared. They are of a pale crimson, approaching 
the Criollo. 

The Amelonado comes next, and then the Calabacillo, which is the 
lowest kind ; its seeds are small and very bitter, and the crimson 
pigment is so dark that it is very easily distinguished from the other 
varieties by this mark alone. 

The fruit after being picked is either left under the trees in large 
heaps unopened, or opened at once and brought to the fermenting and 
drying houses. In the former case a sort of fermentation begins in 
the fruit, and some planters consider it a good process. The pulp sur- 
rounding the seeds contains abundance of saccharine, which causes or 
rather feeds the fermentation. In many establishments the seeds are 
fermented in barrels, in others they are merely heaped in a close 
room. According to the quantity of seeds the planter wishes to 
obtain, and according to the quality of the seed, this fermentation 
is continued from three to ten days. The best Forastero cocoas 
require less time than the other qualities, but [more than the Criollo, 
which completes the process in three days. 

The influence of the fermentation is twofold ; first it destroys the 
pulp, which surrounds the seeds and the saccharine matter, which would 
interfere with the drying process ; and, further, it produces a sort of 
sweetness and flavour in the seed, accompanied by a change from violet 
to brownish-red or cinnamon colour. Some hold that fermentation 
lessens the bitterness of the berry, but on this point doubts are admis- 
sible. Cocoa must of course be fermented to prepare it for drying, 
but the process is attended with some risk in wet weather, when the 
berries are prone to blister. 

Not very many years ago fine red cocoaj that is cocoa having a 
very clear skin of a reddish colour, fetched the highest price in the 
English market, and no attention was paid to the flavour of the kernel. 
The opinions of buyers have since changed, and the samples that now 
fetch the highest prices are all highly fermented. Red cocoa is, 
however, still in favour, probably on account of the small percentage 
the manufacturer loses when the berry is clean. Trinidad manufac- 
turers and consumers prefer the light-brown kernel, irrespective of the 
colour of the skin. The substance of the kernel itself is not changed 
by fermentation ; the starch is left intact, and suffers no loss in 
weight. A great deal depends upon the weather for curing the cocoa 
for shipment. 

The Criollo red-skinned cocoa, abundant in Caracas, requires but 



COCOA. 



9 



little fermentation, as it is naturally of a much finer flavour, but its 
produce is small, and the tree is said to be a slow bearer, and easily 
destroyed by disease or bad weather.* 

So many new cocoa walks have been planted, and small established 
ones enlarged in the last three or four years, that the supply in a year 
or two should much more than balance the falling off in exhausted 
plantations. A considerable amount of good fresh land has of late 
been taken up for, and laid down in, cocoa in the country south of and 
between Arima and the East coast — sufficient to enable planters to 
keep pace with the increasing consumption at home. They are com- 
mencing to plant the cocoa tree in the East Indies, but it will be 
some years before a crop is reaped, and whatever is gathered will, 
for many years, suffice only for eastern consumption, including that 
of Australia. Jamaica is talking of reviving her long-abandoned 
cacao cultivation, and Dominica will do well to follow her example, 
having rich soil in sheltered dells, well adapted, to all appearance, to 
favour this delicate plant. But the islands to the north of Trinidad 
must take into their calculation a risk from which that island and 
Grenada are almost free — that of hurricane blasts. The quality of 
Trinidad cacao maintains its reputation. We hear of extensive irriga- 
tion improvements on Mr. Needham's fine property at the head of 
Santa Cruz, well known as San Antonio. 

Exports from Trinidad. — In Trinidad cocoa is the second great 
staple of production, and although the annual crop necessarily 
fluctuates, according to weather and favourable seasons, yet it will be 
seen the shipments have doubled in the last quarter of a century. 
The following figures give the annual export crops : 



Lbs. 

1851 5,552,437 

1852 6,823,695 

1853 4,904,719 

1854 3,379,159 

1855 4,547,060 

1856 4,575,000 

1857 4,942,600 

1858 5,403,600 

1859 5,893,400 

1860 4,135,921 

1861 6,530,906 

1862 3,849,223 



Lbs. 

1863 7,484 

.. 5,090 
.. .. 6,760 



1864 .. .. 

1865 .. .. 

1866 5,991 

1867 8,016 

1868 7,614 

1869 6,389 

1870 7,470 

1871 6,422 

1872 7,182 

1873 9,238 

1874 11,191 



,941 
,017 
,287 
,673 
,237 
,947 
,022 
,028 
,038 
,404 
,141 
,431 



Taking decennial periods the shipments have been as follows : 



1821 1,214,093 

1831 1,888,852 

1841 2,493,302 



Lbs. 

1851 5,552,437 

1861 6,530,906 

1871 6,422,038 



There is a singular discrepancy between the returns of shipments, 
s published by the Colonial Office, which I have given above in detail 
from the twelfth number of the ' Statistical Abstract for the several 
Colonial Possessions,' and those published in the island papers, for 

* The late Mr. Herman Cruger, Colonial botanist, in the Trinidad Catalogue of 
Products shown at the London International Exhibition, 1862. 



10 



COCOA. 



instance, the ' Trinidad Standard ' gives the shipments for the last few 
years as follows : 

Lbs. Lbs. 

1869 6,269,920 1872 7,019,160 

1870 6,862,600 1873 7,695,520 

1871 6,447,380 1874 10,342,206 

And states that the crop shipped in 1861, 8,472,302 lbs., was not 
far short of double the preceding ten years' average, double the ship- 
ment of the year next following, and that the average of the ten 
years, 1862-71, was about 6,357,400 lbs. 

The season begins in October, and if the shipments wete noted from 
the first of that month instead of the 1st January we should have a 
truer statement of the relative crops. 

The exports in the years, ending September 30, have been, in 1872, 
7,062,320 ; 1873, 7,484,520 ; 1874, 9,794,220 ; 1875, 6,130,306. 
There is little doubt the unusual quantity exported in 1874 was made , 
up, to some degree, of cocoa sent from Grenada for reshipment, and 
which it is to be feared went home as Trinidad produce, lowering the 
character of the ordinary cocoas of that island. Cocoa is prepared in 
two different ways, according to the market for which it is intended. 
If for Europe, the seeds are covered with dry leaves and a light layer 
of earth, and left for six or eight days to ferment. Treated thus they 
lose much water, and their very bitter and astringent principle. The 
seeds become lighter, of an agreeable and mild flavour, are of a hand- 
some cinnamon colour, and the husk or envelope separates easily 
from the bean by a slight pressure between the fingers. It is in this 
condition that the seeds are most sought after, and make the best 
chocolate. To England, where cocoa is principally consumed in 
infusion, it is sent without any preparation. The seeds are then of a 
red colour, their envelope is clean, smooth, adhering to the interior 
almond, which is of a purple colour, with an astringent and bitter 
flavour. In this condition it is quite unfit to be manufactured into 
chocolate. According to Mr. H. Prestoe, colonial botanist, the chief 
object in claying the beans is to preserve them, but in the French 
market there is a decided preference for clayed kinds, without appa- 
rently much regard being paid to the quality of the interior. The 
qualities characteristic of the best cocoas are these : A clean reddish- 
brown or " chocolate" coloured interior. Dryness, so as to render the 
bean crisp all through, and the " nibs " or plates of the kernel readily 
separable from each other, and from the shell or skin. The colour of 
the " nibs " outside is a dull purplish, slightly brown. The fracture 
presents a fine glaucous purple-brown. Chewed, the nibs reduce and 
dissolve in the mouth readily, and the flavour is a fine full chocolate, 
slightly warm and astringent. The consistence is much like that of 
finely-prepared dessert " ground nuts." There should be no trace of 
mildew. The process of fermenting consists in collecting the seeds, 
when taken from the husks or pods, into barrels or troughs, or into 
heaps, nicely covered with plantain leaves or sacks, within the curing 
house for two, three, or four days ; the house, meantime, is kept 
closed. 

The first object in fermenting is to reduce the mucous cQvering of 



COCOA. 



11 



the seeds, and the second is to tone the colour of the kernel to a fine 
purple-brown. On being removed from the fermenting process, the 
beans are well rubbed with a small quantity of a fine red earth, and 
then spread out evenly to dry. The beans have to be frequently 
stirred about in drying, but a very hot sun is avoided during this part 
of the operation. The whole process is very simple, but it requires 
considerable practice to produce the desired effect of the fermentation 
with nicety. The drying or curing house consists of a strongly-built 
span roof, fixed with wheels running on iron rails, laid along a stout 
framework, which supports a strong platform underneath, and upon 
which the beans are manipulated and dried. The gathering of the 
cacao pods is accomplished by means of an instrument called a " cacao 
hook," and upon the proper use of which the goodness of the future 
crop very largely depends. It is most essential that in removing the 
pod by a clean cut through its stem, its base or the part of the stem 
or branch from which it proceeds, be not cut also ; as at that point 
other flowers and fruits develop, and therefore it should not be 
damaged. The pods of the cacao being very persistent, to remove 
them by pulling is not only laborious, but it tears the fruitful portion 
of the bark situated immediately at its base, and thus prevents fruit- 
fulness. 

Other West Indian Islands. — In 1649 only one cocoa tree was 
known in the Windward Islands, planted for curiosity in the garden 
of an Englishman at St. Croix. In 1655 the native Caribs showed 
to M. du Parquet trees of the cocoa growing"^ wild in the woods of 
Martinique. A Jew, named Benjamin, first began to cultivate the 
trees ; but it was not till about twenty- five years after that any great 
progress was made with the culture. 

The cultivation of cocoa in Dominica, although long established, 
dating from some thirty years back, is yet in its infancy as regards 
proper and systematic culture. 

The trees have been planted so close, from two to four feet, that, 
being overcrowded to excess, they are killing each other in the 
struggle for light and air before they are large enough to bear fruit. 
There does not appear to have been any attempt at thinning or 
pruning, or clearing the ground, since they were planted. In 1838, 
2354 lbs. of cocoa were exported; in 1842 it had risen to 19,264 lbs. 
It then fluctuated between 30,000 and 100,000 lbs. ; and the shipments 
in the last few years have been as follows : 

Lbs. Lbs. 

1869 225,422 1872 204,773 

1870 135,439 1873 186,688 

1871 203,433 1874 189,782 

This is wholly shipped to Martinique and Barbados, either for 
partial consumption in those places, or for shipment to England, 
France, or America. The process of preparing the cacao beans for 
the market by fermentation, and subsequent claying, seems scarcely 
to have been heard of in Dominica ; but it should be known by all 
growers that this process, properly performed, raises the value of the 
article from 20 to 30 per cent. 



12 



COCOA. 



In St. Lucia there are about 430 acres under culture with cocoa ; 
and the following statistics show that the exports are almost sta- 
tionary: 



Lbs. 

3839 75,952 

1849 104,912 

1859 198,567 

1864 221,759 

1865 289,097 

1866 192.885 

1867 286,170 



Lbs. 

1868 258,799 

1869 271,968 

1870 257.543 

1871 

1872 246,811 

1873 280,473 

1874 255,614 



In Grenada there are at least 4000 acres planted with cocoa. 
The shipments were, in 



1864 
1868 



Cwts. 
9,462 
14,861 



1869 
1870 



Cwts. 
17,718 
21,602 



The export duty on cocoa in the West India Islands is as follows : 

s. d. 

Trinidad Ollf per cwt. 

Grenada 6 „ 

St. Vincent 8 „ 

Dominica 1 li „ 



In Jamaica some little attention is again being directed to cocoa 
culture. 1C23 cwts. were shipped in 1872, and 451 cwts. in 1874 ; 
there being 40 acres under culture with it. 

The culture of cocoa, which had long been neglected in Guadaloupe 
and its dependencies, is again coming into favour. The plantations 
are formed from plants imported direct from Caracas. The quantity 
exported from Guadaloupe in 1872 was 206,000 lbs. 

In 1727, owing to some disease, the whole of the cocoa trees 
perished in Martinique; the inhabitants, half ruined, after having 
tried several remedies, resolved at last to plant coffee. Of late years 
the cultivation of cocoa has however been resumed, and greatly 
extended in Martinique, and the quality is much esteemed. In 1872, 
686,000 lbs. were shipped. 

The land under culture and the production of cocoa in the four 
French colonies in 1870 were as follows : 





Hectares of 


Kilogrammes of 




21 Acres. 


2i lbs. 




628 


262,300 




463 


125,131 




255 


54,556 




21 


3,750 




1,367 


445,737 



The value of the cocoa received in France in 1870 from her 
colonies is given at 16,000Z. only. 

The cocoa of French Guiana, dried in the sun or by a cur- 
rent of air, presents unctuous qualities, which render it sought for 



COCOA. 



13 



to mix with the perfumed but drier kinds grown in Caracas. The 
export in 1874, from French Guiana, was but 66,000 lbs., and there 
are 231 hectares under culture, which is little more than the produce 
in 1836 from 197 hectares, when 55,400 lbs. were shipped. 

A little cocoa is grown in the Mauritius. Some small quantity is 
still produced in Eeunion, of a good quality, the Caracas sort. Cocoa 
used to be grown in the island in connection with coffee. 

Production in Venezuela. — Venezuelan, or, as it is generally termed, 
Caracas cocoa, has ever been considered the best of all that is pro- 
duced upon the American soil ; although it was from Mexico that the 
bean was first imported into Spain, large quantities of it were 
subsequently exported from the Venezuelan port of Maracaibo to the 
Mexican port of Vera Cruz. The cocoa tree flourishes best when 
planted in a damp, level soil, and begins to produce fruit when about 
five or six years old, its yield being usually about one pound at that 
age ; it does not, however, attain its full bearing capability until it 
has attained its eighth year, at least in the neighbourhood of the sea 
coast; and in some places, such as the Guique districts upon the 
Lake of Valencia, in the neighbouring province of Carabobo, it does 
not attain its full yielding power until it has reached its ninth year. 
Experienced planters residing in the capital (Caracas), however, state 
that, with proper care, it may be made to cover the expenses of its 
cultivation from its sixth year. 

The regular periods for gathering in the crops are in June and 
December, denominated the " crop of St. John " and " Christmas 
crop ; " but when the plants have attained maturity, the gathering of 
scattered pods is carried on almost daily. 

The production of cocoa has not only greatly diminished in Vene- 
zuela, owing to the perpetual civil warfare prevailing, but its quality 
has materially deteriorated owing to the introduction into the country 
of seed, commonly termed " Trinitario," from the island of Trinidad, 
which, although infinitely more prolific than the native seed, produces 
a bean somewhat bitter in taste, and very inferior, as regards essential 
oil and richness of flavour, to that produced from the latter. The 
difference between the two can indeed be detected at once by the most 
casual observer, and the scale of prices at once confirms it. 

Ineffectual efforts were made to guard against the deterioration of 
the native cocoa, enjoying so high a reputation in foreign countries by 
the introduction of the Trinidad seed, to the extent of a proposition 
being made by the Minister of the Interior and Justice to the Con- 
gress, in the year 1850, that any person detected in introducing the 
same into the eastern ports of the Eepublic in constant communication 
with the island of Trinidad should be subjected to corporal chastise- 
ment. 

Some interesting statistical information connected with the culti- 
vation of the cocoa tree in Venezuela in former times was supplied 
by a Caracas newspaper, in the year 1838, which obtained its 
data on the subject from a pamphlet, also published there in the 
year 1765, by a commercial association formed in the Basque Pro- 
vinces of Spain, under -the name of the Guipuzcuanian Trading 
Company, and which states that the export of cocoa from Venezuela 
during thirty years, viz. from 1701 to 1730 inclusive, amounted to 



14 



COCOA. 



643,215 fanegas (the fanega consisting of 110 lbs.); in the following 
eighteen years (up to 1748) to 869,247 fanegas; and in the fifteen 
years following (up to 1754) to 887,191 fanegas ; the first period 
giving 21,440, the second 48,291, and the third 55,449 fanegas as the 
annual average ; the exportation last alluded to being thus divided : 

Fanegas. 

To Spain 503,721 

Canary Islands 76,141 

„ Vera Cruz 279,074 

„ San Domingo, Porto Eico, and Havana 28 , 255 

887,191 



From the same work, it appears that in the year 1728 the Dutch 
sold the cocoa which they imported into Spain at from 70 to 80 dollars 
per fanega, the price in Caracas at that period being from 7 to 
10 dollars ; whilst the Guipuzcuanian Trading Company, which was 
established in the same year (1728), sold their cocoa in Spain for 
from 45 to 50 dollars, having, after the war of 1738, lowered the price 
to 30 dollars, which was the highest price they ever paid for cocoa in 
Caracas up to the year 1765. In the year 1730 the produce of the 
759 cocoa estates, which then existed in Venezuela, was calculated at 
60,000 fanegas annually ; and in the year 1765 it was computed to 
have attained the amount of 130,000 fanegas annually. From the 
year 1770 to 1774 the Guipuzcuanian Trading Company declared its 
total exports of cocoa from the provinces of Caracas and Maracaibo 
to Spain amounted to 179,156 fanegas, giving a yearly average of 
35,830 fanegas. 

Lizarruga, a respectable Biscayan planter of the neighbourhood of 
Caracas, writing in the year 1830, on behalf of the agriculturists 
of the country, estimated the former annual yield of cocoa of the 
whole of the republic of Venezuela at about 150,000 fanegas, which, 
at the medium price of the time, 20 dollars per fanega, amounted 
in value to 3,000,000 dollars ; but at the date of his writing he calcu- 
lated the yield at but 75,000 fanegas. M. Mollien, a French traveller 
in Venezuela during the years 1822-23, states, upon the authority of 
a report sent in to the Spanish Viceroy Samana by Seiior Jove, an 
enlightened public functionary, the approximate amount of the annual 
export of cocoa from the Venezuelan provinces to have been, during 
the six years anterior to 1810, 100,000 fanegas, at an average rate of 
20 dollars per fanega. The Trinitario seed is, at the present time, 
the staple of cocoa from the districts of Giiiria, Maturin, Cardpano, 
and down the eastward, or windward, coast as far as the Eio Chica ; 
but the native or genuine " Creole " plant is still cultivated uj)on 
some few estates. The Trinitario seed is also sown to some extent in 
the valleys of the Tuy, near the capital, although the majority of the 
estates there are sown with Creole seed, and thus good cocoa can still 
be procured from thence. From the port of La Guayra, running 
westward towards Puerto Cabello, and particularly at Choroni, Ocu- 
mare, Turiamo, Patanemo, and Borburato, lie the districts where the 
best Venezuelan cocoa is now produced ; and the choicest of all at an 
estate called Chuao, near Choroni, the property of the University of 



COCOA. 



15 



Caracas. From the neighbourliood of San Felipe, the capital of the 
state of Yaracuy, a very superior unmixed cocoa is sent to Puerto 
Cabello, to the amount, including a small quantity from Barquisi- 
meto, of about 4000 to 6000 fanegas annually. The Trinidad seed 
has, since 1854, been introduced into Chichiriviche, formerly one of 
the finest cocoa districts on the western coast. Many cocoa planta- 
tions were damaged, and some entirely destroyed, by the great 
drought which prevailed in the country in the year 1868-69. 

From what has been above stated, it will be seen that it is from 
Cape Codera down to Puerto Cabello, following the coast-line, that 
the Caracas cocoa is principally cultivated ; and on some estates on 
this line, where the Trinidad seed had been introduced, it has fallen 
into great disrepute, and some of the planters even import the red 
soil of Chroni, in order to impart a better colouring to their bean. 

I am indebted for the following observations to Mr. Alderson, an 
English gentleman, who has recently returned from inspecting his cocoa 
estates, situated within the seaboard tract of country denominated 
the " Valleys of Barlovento," extending from Capaya and Caucagua to 
Rio Chico, the population of which region is put down at 20,000, 
all blacks with the exception of about one hundred whites, and the 
inhabitants all Indian, and amounting to about two thousand, of 
the village of Capaya : 

" In the almost total absence of statistical information," says Mr. 
Alderson, it is difficult to say what these valleys produced in the 
year 1820, which may be called the last of the War of Independence, 
when Venezuela remained definitely severed from the mother country ; 
but it may be safely said that, at the close of those ten years of 
devastation and destruction, all agriculture was virtually extin- 
guished. The progress of reconstruction, as may be supposed, would 
be naturally slow ; and I think, without error, it may be stated that it 
was not until 1840 that the valleys of Barlovento attained their 
highest degree of cultivation and prosperity, continuing to yield an 
average crop of cocoa of from 30,000 to 40,000 fanegas, or half the pro- 
duce of the whole Republic, until the year 1854. In the spring of that 
year agriculture generally, but the cultivation of cocoa especially, was 
all at once checked, and for some time deranged, by the sudden and 
unlooked for liberation of the slaves. The sugar planters recovered 
from this blow by adopting the system of ' medianeros,' that is to say, 
the labourer cultivated the soil in the character of partner in its yield 
— a system that can scarcely be adopted upon cocoa estates, and they, in 
consequence, sensibly and progressively declined till 1858, when the 
great civil war of the Federation broke out. When that bloody and 
unhappy struggle terminated in 1863, the havoc, destruction, and un- 
avoidable neglect had been so excessive, that of the magnificent cocoa 
estates in the valleys of Barlovento, which had been one of the chief 
seats of the war, scarcely a vestige remained ; and I have no hesita- 
tion in saying that at that period their production did not exceed 
5000 fanegas. As a proof that I do not exaggerate the combined 
effects of the sudden emancipation of the slaves and of the five years' 
civil war, I will cite one or two examples of the many for which I can 
personally vouch. Three of the finest cocoa estates in Barlovento 
belonged to General Arizmendi, Don Antonio Palacios, and my 



16 



COCOA. 



father, Mr. John Alderson. The two former were situated in 
Caucagua, and each one yielded an average yearly crop of 1000 
fanegas, but are now abandoned by their owners, and rented as 
uncultivated lands for an almost nominal sum of about 300 dollars 
(or 4:61.) a year. My father's estate, situated in Curiepe, gave from 
700 to 800 fanegas a year ; at present it produces from 200 to 250 
fanegas ; and since the drought of 1868-9, considerably less even 
than that ; the richness of the soil and other local circumstances pre- 
vented its entire destruction and abandonment, such as happened in 
Caucagua. When in 1863 peace was again restored, all the pastoral 
and agricultural inhabitants of the country devoted themselves imme- 
diately to the reparation of their losses with the determination and 
energy of a people worthy of better rulers. Notwithstanding that 
several large properties continued to be abandoned by their owners 
from various causes, the remainder began gradually to progress, 
whilst at the same time a multitude of young plantations sprang 
up, under the personal exertions of an equal number of small pro- 
prietors, many of them formerly slaves. Industry prospered, and 
the yield of several sections of Eio Chico, Curiepe, Tacarigua, 
Capaya, and Caucagua, which together form the valleys of Barlo- 
vento, had probably increased from 5000, which they yielded in 1863, 
to 7000 or 8000 fanegas ; and gave promise of attaining, before long, 
their former yield and prosperity, when the terrible drought of 1868 
and 1869 again threatened the cocoa estates with extinction. Portions 
of many estates were destroyed by fire, and many thousands com- 
pletely burnt up by the drought, whilst the remainder were so 
debilitated that little or no crop could be expected from them for a 
few years. The cocoa estates on and near the river Tuy were an 
exception to the general ruin; so much so, that the soil being rich 
and humid in the extreme, the drought had upon them the effect of 
drainage, and their crops have since been remarkably abundant. The 
introduction of Trinidad seed has, doubtless, had a bad effect upon 
the reputation of ' Caracas ' cocoa ; but the conviction that is daily 
gaining ground of the unadvisability of introducing the ' Trinitario ' 
on the one hand, and on the other the great improvement that takes 
place in the bean produced from the seed in the lapse of time, lead 
me to conclude that the period is not far distant when ' Caracas ' 
cocoa will have re-established its good name." 

Senor Basilizo Mayz, a gentleman from Cumana, estimates the 
product of cocoa in the eastern states of Cumana and Maturin at 
40,000 fanegas, and 40,000 more for the rest of the Republic, or 
80,000 fanegas altogether, reckoning home consumption as well as 
exportation. He distributes and classifies the eastern crop thus : 
Carupano, Eio Caribe, principally " Trinitario " ; Taguaraparo, 
Yrapa, somewhat less " Trinitario," average selling price 18 dollars 
per fanega; Giiiria, Soro, the greater part good cocoa. Maturin, 
mixed, does not yield much ; average price, 36 dollars per fanega. 

Mr. Brandt, a gentleman formerly deputed by the Venezuelan 
Government to inspect the custom-houses of the eastern provinces of 
the Republic, states that the annual exportation of cocoa from the 
port of Carupano alone is from 15,000 to 20,000 fanegas. Mr. Brandt 



COCOA, 



17 



having been unable to proceed further in his inquiries, owing to the 
opposition he experienced, the amount of export from the three other 
ports in question is unattainable. 

According to Seiior Mayz, it was his father who, whilst residing in 
Trinidad as a patriot refugee in 1820, first sent the seed of the cocoa 
from that island to the mainland, at the request of General Arizmendi, 
a famous Venezuelan general of the War of Independence, to plant 
upon his estate at Caucagua ; the bean produced from this seed, as 
before stated, is bitter to the taste, but the plant is much hardier, 
yielding at the third or fourth year, and giving double the quantity 
of the Venezuelan seed, or about two pounds per tree annually. 

Senor Mayz adds, that in Trinidad there were two or more estates 
producing good cocoa from the Venezuelan seed, planted by some of 
the Eoyalist families from the mainland, who had sought a refuge 
in the island ; and it is thus worthy of observation that, whilst a 
Venezuelan patriot first introduced the cocoa seed of Trinidad into 
his country, the Venezuelan seed was introduced into the island in 
question by persons who had remained faithful to the Royalist cause. 

Don. Juan Antonio Guardia, for some tinae Minister of Finance in 
this Eepublic, and partner in the house of Gutierrez and Guardia, of 
La Guayra, one of the principal houses for the consignment of cocoa 
at that port, expressed to me his opinion that the production of 
cocoa has remained stationary during the last twenty years; the 
decrease which has taken place in the valleys of Barlovento, Tuy, 
and on the coast to the west of La Guayra, where large plantations 
have been lost, being, in Seiior Guardia's opinion, compensated by the 
number of small estates that have sprung up of late years in Carii- 
pano, Giiiria, and Yaguaparo. Senor Guardia also calculates the 
yearly crop at from 70,000 to 80,000 fanegas, the exportation of 
which he distributes as follows : 

Fanegas. 

La Guayra, from 35,000 to 40,000 

Puerto Cabello 12,000 „ 15,000 

Maracaibo 8,000 „ 9,000 

Carupano .. ' 15,000 „ 16,000 

70,000 „ 80,000 



This cocoa is produced in the following districts : 

Fanegas. 

La Guayka. — Comprising Barlovento, from Nayguata to 
Cabo Unare, composed of the valleys of Kio Chico, 
Tacarigua, Curiepe, and Capaya, and part of that of 



Caucagua, gives 16,000 

SoTAVENTO. — From Cabo Blanco to the valley of Turiamo, 
where the finest kind of cocoa is generally produced, 

known in Europe as " Caracas " 5 , 000 

Cakacas. — Including the valleys of the Tuy, and part of 

Caucagua and Capaya 7,000 

Cakupano. — Partly from Carupano, Yaguaparo, Giiiria, 

andYrapa 9,000 

Puerto Cabello. — From San Felipe, Giiiglle, and Bar- 

quisimeto 3 , 000 



40,000 







18 



COCOA. 



The 15,000 fanegas, classified as Puerto Cabello, come from Bar- 
quisimeto, San Felipe, Giiigiie, and from some places on the coast of 
Core. The 9000 fanegas, classified as Maracaibo, belong to Merida, 
Trujillo, and Ciicuta ; and the 16,000, exported from Carupano, 
belong to various districts along the coast of Giiiria, Yaguaparo, and 
within the Gulf of Paria. About a third part of the product of these 
districts is embarked from the port of La Guayra. 

The introduction of the Trinidad seed has been very injurious to 
the credit of the Venezuelan cocoa, formerly so highly esteemed, and, 
as before stated, the difference is very palpable; the Creole bean 
being soft, triangular (having three sides), agreeable to the taste, 
and oily ; whereas the " Trinitario " is hard, with two sides, dry, and 
bitter. The difference between them depends in some degree upon 
the soil, and its effect upon the reproduction of the seed. 

In Trinidad, the high cultivation bestowed upon the native seed 
has improved its original nature ; and in the Gulf of Paria, and other 
places where it has been cultivated for many years, it has improved 
so as to be almost equal to the " Creole " or Venezuelan cocoa, a 
result owing entirely to the superior quality of the land, and the 
improvement of the seed from the lapse of time, the cultivation 
being of the most simple description. 

Seiior J. B. Medina, one of the principal cocoa planters of Ocumare 
(on the coast between La Guayra and Puerto Cabello), a locality which 
produces the greatest quantity of the best cocoa, stated the production 
of that district in 1870 to be 64:00 fanegas, distributed thus: 

Fanogas. 



Puerto La Cruz, Sepe, and Chichiriviche . . . . 300 

Chuao 500 

Chorom 1000 

Cuyagu 400 

Cata 600 

Ocumare 1500 

Turiamo .. .. .. .. ' 600 

Patanemo 500 

Borburata 500 

San Estevan, Goaiguaza, TMoron, and Alpargaton . . 500 



6400 

This product, Senor Medina thought, would be doubled in the course 
of five or six years, when the new plantations began to bear, and 
remarks that although very little of the Trinidad seed had been 
introduced into the district referred to, that little would soon dis- 
appear, the planters having become convinced that although the 
yield is much greater it does not compensate for the higher prices 
obtained for the true " Creole cocoa," and in some parts of the 
district in question the Trinidad plants are being uprooted. The 
accompanying table of exports bears out Senor Guardia's estimate of 
production, if 15,000 fanegas be taken as the amount of home con- 
sumption, inasmuch as in twenty-five years (twenty-four averaged) 



COCOA. 



19 



once only have the former equalled, and once only exceeded, his 
maximum of the yearly crops — 80.000 fanegas. 



Per Annum. 
Fanegas. 

1831 to 1886 (five years) averaged 50,124 

1836 „ 1841 ditto „ 64,570 

1841 „ 1846 ditto „ 80,752 

1846 „ 1851 ditto „ 64,709 

1851 „ 1855 (four years) „ 83,756 

1859 „ 1860 (one year) 65,220 



If, then, the first twenty years represent those of large, or the largest, 
yield and export, and the four following (1851 to 1865) a period of 
increased production and export, checked by the years of disorder and 
warfare from 1866-7 to 1863, the shipments of 1859-60 might be 
taken as a fair standard, against which Senor Guardia's will not hold 
out, except under the supposition referred to regarding home con- 
sumption ; anyhow, however, one cannot but arrive at the conclusion 
that Venezuela, with respect to cocoa, one of its richest and most 
valuable productions, has actually fallen from the point it had 
attained just one century ago under the Guipuzcuanian Company, 
This Company shipped in 1770, from the then province of Caracas, 
not including Cumana and other eastern districts, 41,997 fanegas, 
whereas the whole of Venezuela, it is calculated, will not this year 
(1870) produce more than from 35,000 to 40,000 fanegas, at an average 
price of ^l^wu <iollars per fanega, the crop being but a conjectural 
one of mixed, good and inferior cocoa, against an actual, positive 
export, all of the pure, excellent quality that, at the time referred to, 
ruled the markets of Spain.* 

The following have been the shipments of cocoa from Venezuela : 

Lbs. I Lbs. 

In 1855 .. 4,791,856 | In 1857 .. .. 4,309,007 

„ 1856 .. .. 4,078,713 i „ 1875 .. 6,961,703 

From Puerto Cabello, in 1874, 505,000 lbs. were shipped nearly 
all to the continent of Europe. 

The cocoa is largely exported to Spain. The production is about 
1000 cwts. a year. Venezuelan cocoa is generally dearer than other 
kinds, and is in great request. 

The first-quality cocoa (which is almost entirely absorbed by the 
Spanish and French markets, whilst the inferior qualities go to 
England and Germany) is produced almost exclusively in the coast 
districts, being thus commonly termed " cacao de la costa " ; the seed 
within the pod, of a rich dark-brown colour, being larger, richer, 
and of a more oily quality than that produced anywhere inland; 
the " cacao mezelado," or mixed cocoa, is that grown upon estates 
where such of the original first-class "criollo cacao" trees as may 
have died out, have been replaced by others raised from Trinidad 

* Report of Mr. Consul-General C. Middleton, on the production of Cocoa in Vene- 
zuela, September 1870. 

2 



20 



COCOA. 



seed ; such amalgamation somewhat depreciates the quality of the 
produce, notwithstanding that a decided improvement in the quality 
of the Trinidad seed has been attained in some districts, owing to the 
favourable nature of the soil. The best or first quality was fetching 
in the close of 1875, thirty-five to forty venezolanos (dollars) per 
fanega of 112 lbs. ; the second quality twenty to twenty-five venezo- 
lanos the fanega ; and the third, termed " Trinitario " (the seed having 
been originally brought from the island of Trinidad), only sells at 
from twelve to eighteen venezolanos per fanega. This Trinidad cocoa 
came into favour some years ago on account of the more robust nature 
and greater productiveness of the plants, but is now universally held 
to be of an inferior quality.* 

An old black letter treatise in French, which I have in my posses- 
sion, contains a most interesting and useful description of the cul- 
tivation, preparation, and uses of cocoa in the Spanish main. Its 
title is ' Histoire Naturelle du Cacao.' Second edition. Published 
anonymously at Amsterdam, 1720. 

The following description is translated from an account furnished 
by M. P. Madinier, to ' Des Annales de 1' Agriculture des Colonies ' : 

The tree is grown in almost all the provinces of Venezuela, but 
more especially in those of Maracaibo, Tachera, Varinas, Yaracuy, 
Carabobo, Cumana, and Caracas ; and these remarks will apply 
chiefly to this last province and to the estates situate on the eastern 
coast, in the canton of Eio Chico. This canton is watered by four 
navigable rivers, of which two, the Tuy and the Rio Chico, 
communicate directly with the sea, and facilitate the transport of 
produce. 

The land is in general well suited for agriculture, but so low that 
it is exposed to inundations with any considerable rise of the 
rivers. The climate is at the same time very humid and warm ; 
the thermometer occasionally marking 71° Cent. The vegetation is so 
vigorous that the sugar-cane, which in the valley of Caracas requires 
eighteen months to ripen, is here cut after ten months, and attains 
occasionally the height of 27 feet. 

The system of irrigation is not practised, firstly because it is costly, 
and secondly because the lands seem to retain their moisture in the 
height of summer. In later years it may possibly be requisite, but at 
present this country seems to possess all the elements necessary for 
the successful culture of this crop. 

"When commencing a cocoa plantation, the first step is necessarily 
the clearing and preparation of the ground. This is generally done 
in the summer, which is here the months of January, February, and 
March, so that all m-ay be terminated before the first rains of winter 
commence, in April and May. Eows of plantains are then set to give 
shade to the young cocoa trees until the " bucares " (species of Ery- 
ihrina) are advanced enough to form shade trees. 

The plantains are set at stated distances so as not to crowd the 
young trees, but a great deal in this depends on the nature of the soil 
and the species of cocoa planted. 

* Mr. Middleton's Report on the ' Commerce of Venezuela,' 1 875. 



COCOA. 



21 



In a virgin soil, wliere the tree is likely to attain a good size and the 
" Creole " species is planted, the trees are placed 14 or 15 feet apart, 
so that in a space of 12^ feet square there would be one at each angle 
of the square. This distance is reduced where the soil is poorer. 
Some planters, by a system of false economy, plant their trees closer ; 
but this is a bad system, for though there may be a greater number of 
trees to the acre, the production and vigour will be less from want of 
air, the trees will shoot up thin and weak, and produce less fruit. 

The species known as Trinidad cocoa is rather larger and hardier, 
and requires more room, but it is usually planted in poor or im- 
poverished soils. It is a native of Trinidad, or of Campano, a province 
of Cumana. It has degenerated much, and is now chiefly distinguished 
from the Creole cocoa by its greater resistance to atmospheric changes, 
and by the character and treatment of its fruit. 

If the ground is to be planted with bananas, as soon as it is possible 
trenches are made to draw off the water. Nature can best be followed 
in this by affording facilities for carrying off the excess of water arising 
from the heavy rains. In this consists the principal work of the 
planters of the Eio Choco, and it entails the heaviest expense, because 
many insist that there should be a trench to each row of trees to 
ensure good crops and the healthy durability of the tree. The more 
it is intersected with channels for drainage the more prosperous will a 
plantation be. 

When the land has been planted with its rows of bananas, and fur- 
nished with its water channels, the next step is to plant young trees 
of bucare {Erythrina umhrosa and E. velutina). 

The cocoa tree requires the protective shade of another tree to 
thrive, and the younger it is the more it requires shade, hence the 
banana or plantain suffices at first, but the bucare protects it during 
its after life. This shade tree is planted either by suckers or seeds in 
the interval between every three cocoa trees, or about 25 to 35 feet 
apart. 

At the same time that the operation of preparing the plantation is 
going on, the nurseries or seed-beds of young plants should be attended 
to, so that they may be ready for moving when about eight or ten 
months old. The work of transplanting requires great care, so as 
to have a ball of earth round it, and care must be taken not to injure 
the roots, for if these are damaged the plant dies off. The younger 
the plants are transferred the better they succeed. 

It is better to form a plantation from seeds, if the necessary care 
can be given to the young growing trees without too much expense. 
In forming seed-beds the finest fruits are chosen fully ripe ; they are 
opened with care so as not to injure the seeds, which are set a foot 
apart in furrows about two inches deep, and slightly sprinkled over 
with earth and then covered with plaintain leaves. After fifteen days 
the leaves are removed, as the seeds will have sprouted. From this 
time to transplanting all the care necessary is to keep down weeds, 
which might choke the young plants. 

The tree requires to be kept free from weeds and ants, which are 
fond of its young leaves, and boring grubs, which attack the bark. 



I 



22 



COCOA. 



At three yeai*s the trees begin to flower, and a year after they pro- 
duce some fruit ; but it is not till seven or eight years that it gives 
any good crop. The age of fruiting varies ; in the interior of Central 
America, it is about eight years ; in the vale of Guapa, seven ; and 
about Equador and the banks of the Eio Negro, five years. 

When the trees begin to ripen their fruit they are visited every 
fortnight, to gather the pods which are ripe and to trim the tree a 
little. This is done by females and children. The women detach 
the fruit-pods with a knife or chopper mounted on a long stick, and 
the children collect and carry them to the store, where the seeds, some 
twenty-five to thirty-three in each fruit, are extracted. The fruit-pods 
are of different forms and sizes, some nine inches or more in length 
are called cows' tongues, others shorter and rounder, but on the whole 
larger, are called angolitas : these, the most common, are a reddish 
colour, dark or light. The first kind are considered the best, 
because the husk is thinner and the fruit contains more seeds. It is 
generally a light red, but sometimes white at first and turns a palish 
yellow when ripe. 

When the seeds have been removed from the pod they are placed in 
a closed storehouse, in order that the viscous pulp may be separated. 
In dry weather a single night will suffice for this, but in wet 
weather tliey may be left for two or three days without inconvenience. 
They are then dried in the open air, exposed to the sun in a courtyard 
or on drying frames, being turned about from time to time with a rake. 
Eight or ten hours of sun is generally sufficient ; when this cannot be 
obtained the operation is repeated on the following day, and they are 
housed at noon when the sun is at the hottest. They are left in the 
store to steam or ferment for a day or two. 

If the cocoa is the Trinidad variety, it requires four days or more 
to ferment, when it assumes the odour, colour, and taste, of Creole 
cocoa; otherwise it becomes violet-tinged, and acquires a sharp and 
bitter flavour. Some growers expose the seeds on large sheets to 
dry, so that they can be quickly and readily housed in case of rain 
occurring. When properly treated and dried the cocoa assumes in 
the interior a blackish tint, or somewhat of a deep brick colour ; its 
characteristic aroma is well developed ; the taste is agreeable and 
unctuous ; the interior of the seed assumes the colour of the Corinth 
raisin, and if it is opened with the nail traces of the fat are seen. 

This kind of cocoa was that formerly so much cultivated in these 
provinces and considered the choicest, being especially demanded 
of the planters by the Guipuzcuanian (Biscayan) Company. It is not 
exactly the kind which is now sought after by shippers, who have a 
prejudice in favour of red cocoa of a natural or artificial colour. 
This is given either by red earth, brickdust, and occasionally by 
vermilion. 

Between the appearance of the fruit and its ripening there is an 
interval of nine months. The average yield of a tree may be taken to 
be one pound of cocoa, although some assume it to be one and a quarter 
pound. In a rich virgin and favourable soil the tree will last thirty- 
five or forty years, in poorer soil only twenty or twenty-five. 



COCOA. 



23 



The exports of cocoa from Eq^uador — whicli is the largest producing 
State — have been as follows : 



Cwts. 

1857 149,624 

1858 202,972 

1859 136,119 

1860 167,155 

1861 213,384 

1862 166,714 

1863 147,722 

1864 122,620 

1865 113,666 



Cwts. 

1866 247,602 

1867 201,278 

1868 

1869 173,092 

1870 234,744 

1871 184,572 

1872 181,973 

1873 251,812 

1874 247,493 



Cocoa besides being cultivated in all the gardens of Moyobamba, 
the eastern territory of Peru or the Montana, grows spontaneously, 
and is met with in abundance and of various kinds in the woods of 
the province. 

Production in Brazil. — The culture of cacao was first begun in Bahia 
in 1780, plants being brought from Para, where it is indigenous to 
the districts of Valencia, Camanii, and llheos. Since then the 
culture has steadily increased, and the quantities exported have been 
as follows : 



1830 1,788 aiTobas of 32 lbs. 

1840 7,244 

1845 13,332 „ „ . 

1849 20,261 

1855 ■ .. .. 34,764 

1856 7,362 bags. 

1857 7,152 „ 

1858 8,465 „ largest crop for twenty years. 

1860 8,171 „ 

1870 1,215,684 kilogs. 

1873 1,201,642 „ 



The total shipments of cocoa from Brazil were, in arrobas of 32 lbs., 
as follows : 

1841 139,249 I 1861 .." .. .. 270,974 

1851 262,670 | 1863 313,152 



The exports since are given in kilos, of 2^ lbs. : 



1868 3,884,427 

1869 2,801,970 

1870 2,858,018 



1871 3,181,471 

1872 3,181,471 



The production has diminished in quantity, but increased in value. 
The quantity exported is subject to great fluctuations owing to the 
frequent overflows of the river Amazon, which stops the gathering 
of the fruit. 

The tree is indigenous in Para, being found in great abundance on 
the banks of the large rivers of that province, and from Para come 
five-sixths of the exports of Brazil. It is, besides, grown to some 
extent in Bahia, and in small quantities in Maranhao and in Rio 



24 



COCOA. 



Janeiro ; requiring but little labour and capital, it is well worthy of 
more attention. 

The mode of forming a plantation in Brazil is as follows: after 
having cleared and burned off the suitable land near the bank of a 
river, small holes are made in the ground and a seed placed in each ; 
in order to keep down weeds and to shelter the young plants from the 
sun and winds, bananas (Musa) are planted throughout the grounds. 

At the end of three years the tree is well grown and begins to pro- 
duce fruit. These are ripe about June and December, and are knocked 
off the trees with the aid of long forks. They are then piled in heaps 
on the ground or under shade, and allowed to ferment for three or 
four days, after which they are cut open and the beans or seeds 
removed, which are spread on the ground or on mats to dry.* The 
tree flourishes well on the banks of the rivers Madeina and Salimoes. 
There are two harvests yearly, the first in December and January ; 
the second, which is the most abundant, in May and June. The tree, 
whether in its wild or cultivated state, is not injured by the over- 
flowing of the rivers, even when the trunk is deeply submerged during 
the inundations. In the provinces of Amazonas and Para it grows 
naturally without culture, and the trees produce freely, requiring no 
care except the collection of the fruit, which in those localities forms 
the fortune of the daughters of the cultivators. 

Para. — In the ten years ending 1862 the shipments of cocoa 
from Para amounted to 2,094,119 arrobas, being an average of about 
6,700,000 lbs. per annum. 

Though in many cases carelessly cultivated, it grows for the most 
part spontaneously. The tree with moderate care will continue to 
give two yearly crops for fifty or sixty years. The towns in this 
province which send cocoa for shipment to the capital are Cameta, 
Gurupa, Obidos, and Santarem. 

The exports from Para were in 

Arrobas. Arrobas. 

1864 267,968 1867 366,838 

1866 94,966 1869 158,975 

nearly all goes to France. 

Besides this chocolate the Brazilians prepare another sort from the 
fruit of the cupuassu {Deltonea lactea). This is limited to the pro- 
vince of Para and a few manufactories, the principal of which are in 
Belem, the capital. 

Culture in the East. — The experiments on the cultivation of the 
cacao tree on the Neilgherry Hills is still a subject of attention mth 
the Government of India. It is some years since a large number of 
the young trees were introduced into the Budliar Gardens, and their 
cultivation was so far a success that about four years ago two cases of 
seedlings from the gardens were sent as specimens to Calcutta. The 
Government recently inquired whether seedlings of another species 
would not be acceptable, and a case of the new variety was to arrive 

* Scully's ' Brazil.' 



COCOA. 



25 



by one of the ships daily expected at Calcutta, it being the desire 
of the Government that the seedlings should be planted in the Budliar 
Gardens, where the results of the first experiment had been so 
satisfactory. 

The cocoa tree was introduced into Celebes by the Spaniards be- 
tween 1560 and 1570. About 1500 piculs were produced in 1854, 
and since then the production has greatly increased ; the yield there 
is about 5 or 6 lbs. per tree. 

Culture in the Philippines. — The cacao tree was first imported into 
the Philippines from Acapulco, either, according to Camarines, by a 
pilot called Pedro Brabo de Lagunas, in 1670, or, according to 
Samar, by some Jesuits during Salcedos' government, between 1663 
and 1668. Since then it has spread over the greater part of the 
island, and although it is not cultivated with any excessive care, its 
fruit is of an excellent quality. This cacao of Albay, if its cheap- 
ness be taken into consideration, may be regarded at least equal to 
that of Caracas, is so much prized in Europe, and which, on account 
of its high price, is generally largely mixed with inferior kinds. 
The bushes are usually found in small gardens close to the houses ; 
but so great is the laziness of the Indians that they frequently 
allow the berries to decay, although the native cacao sells for a 
higher price than that imported. 

At Cebu and Negros a little more attention is paid to its cultiva- 
tion ; but it does not suffice to supply the wants of the colony which 
imports the deficiency from Ternate and Mindanao. The best cacao 
of the Philippines is produced in the small island of Maripipi, which 
lies to the north-west of Leyte ; and it is difficult to obtain, the entire 
crop generally being long bespoke. It costs about one dollar per litre 
(llf pints), whereas the Albay cacao costs from two to two and a half 
dollars per ganta (three litres). The Indians generally cover the 
kernels just as they are beginning to sprout with a little earth, and 
placing them in a spirally rolled leaf, hang them up beneath the roof 
of their dwellings till required for planting. They grow very rapidly, 
and to prevent their being choked by weeds are planted out at very 
short distances. This method of treatment is probably the reason 
that the cacao trees in the Philippines never attain a greater height 
than eight or ten feet, while in their native soil they frequently reach 
thirty, and sometimes even forty feet. The tree begins to bear fruit 
in its third or fourth year, and in its fifth or sixth it reaches maturity, 
when it usually yields a "ganta" of cacao, which, as before mentioned, 
is worth from two to two and a half dollars, and always finds a pur- 
chaser. 

The profits arising from a large plantation would therefore be con- 
siderable, yet it is very rare to meet with one. The great obstacles in 
the way of large plantations are the heavy storms which recur almost 
regularly every year, and often destroy an entire plantation in a single 
day. In 1856 a hurricane visited the island just before the harvest, 
and completely tore up several large plantations by the roots ; these 
catastrophes naturally caused much discouragement to the culti- 
vators. 



26 



GUAR ANA. 



In 1727 a hurricaiie destroyed at a single blast the important cacao 
plantations of Martinique, which had been created by long years of 
extraordinary care. The same thing happened at Trinidad. 

Travellers in America say that a well-kept cacao plantation is a very 
picturesque sight. In the Philippines, however, or at any rate in East 
Luzon, the closely-packed, lifeless-looking, moss-covered trees present 
a dreary spectacle. Their existence is a brief one. Their oval leaves, 
sometimes nearly a foot long, droop singly from the twigs, and form 
no luxuriant masses of foliage. Their blossoms are very insignificant ; 
they are of a reddish yellow, no larger than the flowers of the lime, 
and grow separately on long weedy stalks. The fruit ripens in six 
months. When it is matured it is of either a red or a yellow tint, and 
is somewhat like a very large, rough gherkin. Only two varieties 
appear to be cultivated in the Philippines, although eighteen kinds 
are spoken of.* 

According to F. Engel, a floui'ishing cacao plantation requires less 
outlay and trouble, and yields more profit than any other tropical 
plant ; yet its harvests, which do not yield anything for the first five 
or six years, are very uncertain, owing to the numerous insects which 
attack the plants. In short, cacao plantations are only suited to large 
capitalists, or to very small cultivators who grow the trees in their 
own gardens. 

GUAKANA. 

A product, allied to cocoa in some respects, may be incidentally 
mentioned here, made from the seeds of a Brazilian plant, and highly 
esteemed there, although it has not appeared much in Em'opean com- 
merce. This is guarana, the product of a tree, the Paullinia sorhilis^ 
Mart., belonging to the order Sa/pindacece. The tree grows abundant 
in the province of Amazonas, along the banks of the Tapagos, Rio 
Negro, &c., as well as in Guiana and Venezuela. The genus indeed is 
a large one, and it is probable that the seeds of P. Cupana of the 
Orinoco and many other species are used for a like purpose. 

It is manufactured by the Muras, Mondrucas, and other tribes of 
Indians. The fruit, scarcely as large as a walnut, contains five or six 
seeds ; it is gathered when ripe, and roasted intact. The seeds are 
then taken out, and, after being pounded between stones or mallets, 
are formed into a thick paste with water, and moulded into cakes, 
fanciful shapes, or cylindrical rolls, something like a large sausage, 
and then finally dried in the sun or by the fire, when it becomes 
extremely solid and difficult to fracture. In this form it will keep 
good for any length of time, and is always ready when required. 

Guarana is used extensively in Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Eica, and 
other parts of South America, as a nervous stimulant and restorative. 
It is included in the French Pharmaceutical Codex, and also among 
the non-ofiicinal substances of the United States Dispensatory. Be- 
sides its medicinal properties, this substance has a reputation for 
affording a refreshing beverage, similar in its effects to tea and coffee. 

* Jcagor's ' Travels in the Philippines,' 



COFFEE. 



27 



Grated down, it is very like powdered cocoa in appearance. Two 
spoonsful of the powder, mixed in a tumbler of water, is regarded as 
a stimulant to the nerves, and, like strong tea or cofifee, is said to take 
away the disposition to sleep. 

The active principle is an alkaloid, first discovered by Von Martius, 
and called by him guaranine, but since shown * by Dr. Stenhouse to be 
identical with theine. Guarana contains more than double as much 
of this alkaloid as good black tea, and five times as much as coffee ; 
the proportions being 5 • 07 per cent, in guarana, 2*13 per cent, in tea, 
and about 1 per cent, in coffee. 

The same alkaloid is found to the amount of 1*25 per cent, in 
mate or Paraguay tea, the produce of several species of Ilex. It is 
rather a singular coincidence that the same alkaloid should prevail in 
all the principal substances employed in a similar manner as beverages 
in different parts of the world. 

In addition to theine, guarana contains a colouring matter apparently 
analogous to the tannin in cinchona bark, and also a fatty matter, 
which, like cocoa butter, does not appear to become rancid by keeping. 
The Indians of Brazil stain their faces with the colouring matter. 

There is exported annually from the city of Santarem about 
16,000 lbs. of guarana, valued at Sd. or ^d. per pound ; near the Eio 
Negro it sells for very much less, but on the continent of Europe it 
has been sold occasionally, for its alleged medicinal properties, at 
almost fabulous prices — in France sometimes at 20s. per ounce, 

COFFEE. 

After tea there is scarcely any other staple of commerce used for 
dietetic beverages that has made more rapid progress in the world, or 
gained for itself more general acceptation with all classes, than coffee. 
Its constantly increasing consumption as a beverage, as seen in the 
statistical tables given, clearly proves that it may be regarded not only 
as one of the necessaries of life, but also as a very important one. The 
continued increase in the demand for coffee, irrespective of climatic 
influences, will of necessity extend the present area of its cultivation 
largely into those belts of land which are favourable to the production 
of the plant. These lands are found lying principally between the 
isothermal lines of 25° north and 30° south of the equator. It has 
been ascertained that the plant cannot be grown to advantage in places 
where the thermometer descends at any time below 65°. 

Besides the existing countries where coffee is cultivated, there are 
many other places where it might be extensively grown, such, for 
instance, as the western coast of Africa generally, the interior ranges 
of Natal, the mountain ranges on the northern coast of Australia, from 
Moreton Bay to Torres Straits, &c. Soil and climate are the circum- 
stances which chiefly affect its commercial value. The cultivation of 
coffee is now widely diffused over all tropical parts of the world. It is 
found in most of the West India Islands, in the provinces of Central 

* ' riiarm. Joiirn.' vol. xvi. p. 212. 



28 



COFFEE. 



America, Cayenne, Peru, Bolivia, and especially Brazil, the greatest 
market of all. It is widely spread over Arabia, the western coast of 
India, Ceylon, Sumatra, Boui-bon, Mauritius, Java, and other islands 
of the Eastern Archipelago and various parts of Africa. 

Coffee Production of the World. — Few people have even an approxi- 
mate idea of the magnitude of the coffee trade of the world ; the value 
of the coffee crop, according to an Amsterdam authority, as purchased 
from fii'st hands, was set down recently at nearly 25,000,000?., but 
this is far too low ; for, taking the production of the world at present 
at 13,000,000 cwts. (which is certainly much within the mark), and 
estimating it at but 60s. per cwt. on the spot, we arrive at a total of 
39,000,000Z. Our imports into the United Kingdom in 1875 of under 
1,600,000 cwts. were valued at 7,500,000^. 

Let me now trace the aggregate progress of coffee production as 
shown in the last fifteen years. 



Brazil — Eio 

„ Santos 

„ Bahia 

Costa Rica and Guatemala 
Lagnayra and Porto Cabello, Mara-l 

caibo and Guayaquil j 

Porto Eico, Cuba, and British Westl 

Indies / 

St. Domingo 

Java 

Padang 

Men ado 

Sumatra, Macassar, &c 

Ceylon 

British India and Manila 



1861. 


1870. 


1875. 


cwts. 

3,610,400 
359,100 
72,000 
54,200 


cwts. 

2,841,200 
714,100 
121,100 
180,200 


cwts. 
1 7,142,000 
354,260 


295,000 


263,800 


410,650 


100,200 


148,100 


377,000 


314,600 
1,117,100 
203,900 
16,300 
9,700 
593,900 
173,100 


470,500 
1,497,500 
145,300 
46,800 
40.200 
1,019,200 
290,100 


24,500 
1,400,000 
161,000 
20,000 
35,000 
967,700 
446,420 


6,919,500 


7,778,200 


11,338,530 



The Brazilian production for 1875 is calculated by adding one-fifth 
for local consumption to the total actual shipments ; for all the other 
countries, the mere exports are given irresjiective of what may be 
locally consumed. Africa and the African islands and Arabia might 
be set down for a few thousand cwts. more. 

Consumption in the United Kingdom. — If we examine closely the 
statistics of coffee consumption in this country, we find that in the 
first four years of the century it was only an ounce per head ; in the 
five years ending 1809 it averaged three ounces ; it then increased, in 
the next quinquennial period, to six ounces, at which proportion it 
remained steady till 1825-29 when it advanced to eleven ounces ; 
increased in the next five years to fifteen ounces, averaged about a 
pound per head for the following ten years, and then kept steady at 
about a pound and a quarter till 1861, since which period it has been 
gradually declining contemjDoraneously with the increased consump- 
tion of tea, and notwithstanding a reduction of duty. The following 



COFFEE. 



29 



shows the consumption of coffee in the United Kingdom, and the 
average quantity consumed by each individual of the population 
during the present century : 



Years. 


Quantity, lbs. 


Population of the 
Kingdom. 


Average per 
Individual. 


1801 to 1804 


1,013,854 


16,093,000 


0-1 


1805 „ 1809 


2,897,401 


17,147,000 


0-3 


1810 „ 1814 


7,218,374 


18,295,000 


0-6 


1814 „ 1819 


7,969,189 


19,765,000 
21,335,000 
22,907,000 


0-6 


1820 „ 1824 


7,816,725 


0-6 


1825 „ 1829 


15,284,597 


0-11 


1830 „ 1834 


22,972,933 


24,328,000 


0-15 


1835 „ 1839 


25,429,063 


25,653,000 
27,023,000 


1-0 


1840 „ 1844 


29,377,326 


11 


1845 „ 1849 


35,993,207 


27,929,000 
27,699,000 


1-5 


1850 „ 1854 


34,596,676 


1-4 


1855 „ 1857 


35,037,880 


28,007,000 


1-28 


1858 „ 1860 


35,011,922 


28,586,000 


1-22 


1861 „ 1863 


34,138,967 


29,191,000 


1-17 


1864 „ 1866 
1867 


30,832,219 


29,760,000 


1-03 


31,282,023 


30,157,000 


1-04 


1868 


30,356,818 


30,381,000 


1-00 


1869 


28,839,100 


30,611,000 


0-94 


1870 


30,629,710 


30,829,000 


0-98 


1871 


31,010,615 


31,048,000 


0-97 


1872 


31,650,192 


31,836,000 


0-98 


1873 


31,930,928 


32,124,000 


0-99 


1874 


31,252,368 


32,426,000 


9-96 


1875 


32,048,016 


32,737,000 


0-90 



General Consumption. — Co£fee may be said to form almost the ex- 
clusive dietetic warm beverage of 100,000,000 of the human race. 

The principal countries using it largely, besides Turkey and Egypt, 
are the Austrian and German Empires, France, Holland, Belgium, 
Switzerland and the Scandinavian States, Great Britain and the United 
States. In some of these, as the ZoUverein, Belgium, Holland, Norway, 
Sweden, Denmark, and the United States, &c., the consumption is from 
7 to 14 lbs. per head. 

The statistical department of Denmark recently compiled a state- 
ment of the consumption of the chief dietetic articles in several 
European countries, taking the period 1860-71 (except for the ZoU- 
verein, which rests on data of 1850). The following were shown to 
be the proportions of coffee then used per head of the population : 

Lbs. Lbs. 

France 2-32 Norway 6-30 

Great Britain .. 0*95 Sweden 3*28 

Belgium 8*60 Denmark 4*90 

Zollverein 3-94 

Taking, however, the latest year's complete return we have at com- 
mand of the imports of coffee retained for consumption, we arrive at 
the following results, showing the gross and individual consumption, 
which are somewhat different to those given above. 



30 



COFFEE. 



Estimate made up for the year 1873 from the offtcial returns of 
articles imported and retained for consumption in the various coun- 
tries ; chiefly from the " Statistical Abstract for Foreign Countries," 
second number : — 





Total Imports of 
001^66 tcilcGii for 
Consumption. 


Average per 
Head. 




lbs. 


lb.s. 




98,635,000 


2-73 


Belgium 


49,771,000 


13-48 




18,779,500 


703 


Russia, Euroi^eau . . 


14,740,920 


0-19 




26,555,213 


611 




17,636,080 


9-80 




26,035,652 


13-89 




72,395,800 


21-00 




178,715,936 






76,876,576 


2'-'l3 




2,131,367 


142 


Italy ,. 


28,511,560 


1-00 


United Kingdom 


82,330,928 


1-00 




293,293,833 


7-61 



The following table, recently published in the French ' Annales 
du Commerce Exterieur,' gives the assumed general consumption of 
coffee in 1874, in tons : 



United States .. 124,500 

Germany 95,000 

Holland and Belgium 43,000 

France 44,000 

Austria and Hungary 25,000 

Portugal, Spain. Italy, and Greece 25,000 

United Kingdom 18,000 

Sweden, l«;orway, and Denmark 20,000 

Switzerland 9,000 

Russia 7,500 

Canada, Cape Colonj^, and Australia 9,000 



Total 420,000 



This estimate takes no account of the consumption in the producing 
countries, nor for Turkey and the African States. 

Varieties of the Plant. — Botanists have enumerated about sixty 
species of the genus Coffea, spread over various countries in the 
eastern and western hemispheres. Most of these must be mere 
varieties resulting from accidents of soil, climate, or cultivation, pro- 
duced subsequently to the naturalising of the plant, for we know that 
all the coffee trees now grown in America and the West Indies are 
the progeny of one plant introduced in the year 1714, and yet 
botanists have individualised as separate species the following : 

In Brazil — C. Australis, hiflora, jasminoides, gardenioides, magnoliae- 
folia, major, meridionalis, minor, nodosa, parquioides, parvifolia, poro- 
phylla, sessilis, stipulacea, truncata, viburnoides. 

In Guiana — C. Guianensis, panicidata, laurifolia, stipulacea. 



COFFEE. 



31 



In Mexico — C. Mexicana, ohovata, and rosea. In New Granada, — 
C. spicata. In Pern — C. nitida, racemosa, suhsessilis, umhellafa, verti- 
cillata, longifolia, foveolata, cil'iata, and acuminata. 

In tlie East Indies we have, in India, C. semiexerta, tetranda, 
Travancorensis, Wightiana ; in Java, C. densijlora and G. Indica ; in tlie 
Moluccas, G. peduncidata. 

In tlie Sandwich Islands, G. Gliamissonis and G. Kadiiana. 

In Africa, the original Goffea Arahica in Arabia and Abyssinia; 
■ G. laurina in Sierra Leone ; G. Liherica in Liberia ; and G. Mozam- 
bicana and Zanguebarica in other parts. 

Cultivation. — The coffee tree succeeds in countries in which the 
temperature does not fall below 55°, but is very commonly raised in 
greenhouses in various parts of Europe and North America. It may 
be cultivated as far as 36° N. lat., where the mean temperature is 
about 70°. Within the tropics coffee thrives best at an elevation of 
1200 to 3000 feet, and rarely grows above 6000 feet. In Jamaica 
and Ceylon it is found to withstand cold well in the high mountain 
ranges, and bears a large, plump, and aromatic berry. It takes its 
name from Coffa, a south-vv^estern province of Abyssinia, of which it 
is a native, and the common name is almost the same in all languages 
to which it has spread. 

Coffee is now largely cultivated in many of the States of Central and 
Southern America, in several of the West Indian islands, in different 
parts of the eastern and western coasts of Africa and the adjacent 
islands, in the Peninsula of India, Ceylon, and the islands of the 
Eastern Ai'chipelago and the Pacific. 

The trees are usually raised from seeds in nurseries, and afterwards 
planted out at regular distances, which vary according to the nature 
of the soil. Plantations are made chiefly on hills and the skii-ts of 
mountains, and if possible where the soil is moist and shaded. In dry 
and gravelly soils the coffee trees seldom grow higher than six feet, 
and may be planted five feet apart ; but in rich soils, where they 
attain the height of nine or ten feet or more, the plants should not be 
so crowded, and intervals of eight or ten feet should be left between 
them. If not pruned they would rise to the height of sixteen or 
eighteen feet, but they are generally dwarfed to five feet for the con- 
venience of gathering the fruit with greater ease, and also to prevent 
their running to wood. Thus dwarfed they extend their branches 
laterally, so that they cover the whole spot round about them. The 
trees produce fruit when they are two years old, and in the third or 
fourth year they are in full bearing. The produce of a good tree is 
from one and a half to two pounds of berries. 

With the same infirmities that most other trees are subject to, 
coffee trees are likewise in danger of being destroyed by the borer and 
other insects, and by the scorching rays of the sun. In the West 
Indies and some other parts large umbrageous trees, of various kinds, 
are planted in rows at intervals throughout a coffee plantation, to 
afford a shade and shelter to the young plants. 

Coffee trees flourish in hilly districts where the subsoil is gravelly, 
for the roots will strike down and obtain nourishment, so as to keep 
the tree alive and fruitful for thirty years. This is, however, about 



35 



COFFEE. 



the extreme limit at which the tree will bear fruit. Trees planted in 
a light soil and in dry and elevated spots produce smaller berries, 
which have a better flavour than those grown in rich, flat, and moist 
soils. The weight of produce yielded by the latter is, however, 
double that obtained from the former, and as the difference in price 
between the two is by no means adequate to cover this deficiency of 
weight, the interest of the planter naturally leads him to the pro- 
duction of the largest but least excellent kind. It is the usual calcu- 
lation that each bushel of ripe berries will yield 10 lbs. weight of 
merchantable coffee. 

The aspect of a coffee plantation during the period of blossoming, 
which does not last longer than one or two days, is very interesting. 
In one night the blossoms expand themselves so profusely as to pre- 
sent the same appearance which is sometimes witnessed in England 
when a casual snowstorm, at the close of autumn, has loaded the trees 
while still furnished with their full complement of foliage. The fruit 
is known to be ripe when it assumes a dark red or nearly purple 
colour, and in this state the pulpy covering begins to shrivel. If not 
then gathered the fruit will drop from the trees. The sweet pulp 
covering the seeds is in some countries distilled, and in other cases 
dried and used as a coffee substitute. The fruit or berries are either 
gathered by hand into bags or baskets, or the trees are shaken and the 
fruit falls on sheets laid on the ground. 

In curing or drying the coffee it is sometimes usual to expose the 
berries to the sun's rays in layers five or six inches deep, on platforms 
or terraced floors, called barbacues. These paved barbacues are raised 
a little above the ground and enclosed with an upright stone ledge of 
eight or ten inches in height, and divided by transverse partitions, 
with four or more square compartments, that each may contain a day's 
gathering. During the first and second days the berries are turned 
often, that the whole may be more exposed to the sun, but when they 
begin to dry they are frequently winnowed and laid in cloths to pre- 
serve them better from rain and dews, still exposing them to the sun 
daily, and removing them under cover every evening until they are 
sufficiently dried. By this means the pulp ferments in a few days, 
and having thus thrown off a strong acidulous moisture, dries gradu- 
ally in about three weeks ; the husks are afterwards separated from 
the seeds in a mill. 

Other planters remove the pulp from the seed as soon as the berries 
are gathered by a pulping mill. The pulp is then separated from the 
seeds by washing them, and the latter are spread out in the sun to 
dry. It is then necessary to remove the membranous skin or parch- 
ment by means of heavy rollers. The seeds are afterwards sifted 
and winnowed to separate the chaff, and if any among them appear 
to have escaped the action of the rollers they are again passed through 
the mill. 

In the ten years from 1861 to 1870, the coffee-growing countries 
produced nearly sixty-eight millions of cwts. of coffee. Of this, Eio 
alone supplied considerably more than a third. 

Production in Java and the Eastern Archipelago. — Although Brazil 
supplies the largest quantity of coffee to the world, as its shipments 



COFFEE. 



33 



go chiefly to the United States, we will commence with the second 
great coffee-producing country, Java, which however stands the first 
in precedence for the introduction of the coffee tree. 

Ceylon is now pushing Java hard for second place in production. 

As early as 1650 the industrious Dutch carried the seeds of coffee 
trees from Mocha to their colony in the far East, enlarged the enter- 
prise rapidly, and were able in 1719 to appear in the great markets 
of the world with large supplies of coffee from Java. Encouraged by 
this success, they established similar plantations in Sumatra, Ceylon, 
and the Sunda islands. The French and the English followed their 
example, and in a short time the coffee tree had made the voyage 
round the world. In 1690, Governor Witsen presented a coffee plant 
to the Botanic Garden of Amsterdam, where it bore fruit, and pro- 
duced many young plants. From these the East Indies and West 
Indies have been furnished. 

In Java, which is situated six degrees south of the equator, elevated 
forest clearings, between 2000 and 4000 feet above the level of the sea, 
are found to be the best suited for the growth of coffee ; but it is culti- 
vated in low lands also, although the tree does not last so long, and 
bears less fruit. Shade trees are used, and weeding is well attended to. 

In some places the berries are dried with the pulp, but in the 
majority of cases it is prepared in the parchment by pulping, 
washing, and pounding with wooden pestles, and, by experienced 
planters, with more complicated machinery. 

Java coffee has gradually acquired a reputation which its intrinsic 
value fully merits. The greatest care and attention jbave been 
bestowed on the cultivation there, it being not so much the wish 
of the Dutch Government naturally to increase the present extent 
of culture as to develop and strengthen the plant, in order thuB 
to improve the quality and enhance the value of the bean. In 
Brazil, San Domingo, and other places, over cultivation and obvious 
neglect are doing much to injure the character of the product. 

There are three prominent kinds of Java coffee brought into the 
Dutch markets — Jacatra, usually sold as Java; Cheribon, and Sama- 
rang. The first is the best ; Cheribon is a little lighter colour, and 
of somewhat inferior quality. Samarang coffee has yellowish-brown 
or green flattened beans, but what is generally sold as such is simply 
a kind of " triage," black beans of a coarse flavour. 

The culture of coffee in Java is effected by tribute or partially 
forced labour. The Dutch Government maintain the old Indian idea 
of sovereign right to a supreme lordship of the soil. They do not 
allow freehold possession of land to the people, except where a few 
foreigners held certain rights before our cession of the island, and 
also where the native princes have maintained their ancient rights. 
With these exceptions, the Government have a monopoly of the land, 
and each family holds its farm on the stringent condition of having 
to plant and maintain in bearing 650 trees, of which they must 
harvest and deliver the produce, say 2 cwts., into the Government 
warehouse. For this they have to leave their villages and camp in 
the hills, receiving a payment of about 30s. per picul, or 24s. per cwt. 
In such a task the people have naturally more interest in the speed 



84 



COFFEE. 



with which they get through their harvesting than in a good result, 
and much coffee is wasted. 

Besides the Government culture there is a good deal of coffee 
raised by private growers. 

The tree bears fruit there in the fourth year, and continues to yield 
up to the fifteenth year or longer. It blossoms generally three times 
in the year, so that it may be said there are three gatherings of the 
berry. 

The comparative progress of coffee production in Java is shown 
by the exports, which were in 

Cwts. Cwtg. 

1829 375 1859 1,195,380 

1839 1,000,000 1869 3,299,000 



The crops were defective from 1864 to 1867. The export has 
occasionally reached 170,000,000 lbs., and the production is regaining 
its old footing. The exports, however, include various receipts from 
the other islands, although shipped under the general designation of 
Java coffee. 

The sales of Java coffee in Holland in 1873 amounted in value to 
over 5,000,000Z. 

The quantity of coffee delivered into the Government stores at 
J ava of late years, has been as follows : 



Year. 


Piculs. 


Average price 
paid. 


Net sale price 
in Holland. 






florins. 


florins. 


1869 


962,800 


14-95 


38-76 


1870 


986,038 


14-48 


36-73 


1871 


446,304 


15-97 


39-36 


1872 


985,961 


15-47 


48-36 


1873 


773,920 


15-80 


60-96 



The gross price paid to the natives for the coffee is 26 florins per 
picul, deducting from these the duty of 10 florins. 

The number of trees in the Government plantations, irrespective 
of those in the gardens of the native chiefs, was in 1873, 239,079,225. 

According to the report of a Commission of Inquiry submitted to 
the Second Chamber of the States of the Netherlands in February, 
1875, the culture of coffee carried on in Java on account of the 
Government, has remained stationary for forty years, notwithstanding 
the large quantity of land and labour available, while the consump- 
tion and value of the product have continued to increase during the 
period. 

Sumatra. — After Java, Sumatra is the next island which raises coffee 
in large quantity, and as it has been greatly taken up by the native 
cultivators, the island may, when the trees planted come into full 
bearing, yield a considerable crop. The production at present ranges 
from 13,000,000 to 17,000,000 lbs. The beans are dark brown, occa- 
sionally black, and the last kind is but of poor quality. 



COFFEE. 



35 



In Palembang the production was, in 1872, 9114 piculs; in 1873, 
9757 ; in 1874, 13,000. 

In 1872 there were on the west coast of Sumatra 182,500,000 coffee 
trees planted, of which 126,000,000 were bearing. The production 
in that year was 90,819 piculs (133 lbs.). The produce of 1874 was 
131,474 piculs, there being 4,825,000 more fruit-bearing trees. 

The following figures serve to show the progress in a district, 
Ampat-Lawang, situate between Palembang and Bencoolen, having a 
population of 22,000 souls, where the cultivation is free, the pro- 
ducers being at liberty to sell their produce as they choose, and not 
obliged to deliver it to the Government at a fixed price : 





Piculs. 




Piculs. 


1860 ,. . 


460 


1867 .. 


, 7,887 


1861 


713 


1868 


5,279 


1862 


. . . 1,697 


1869 


6,668 


1863 


2,869 


1870 


3,953 






1871 , 


. . . 8,465 


1865 .. . 


3,530 
.. 4,729 


1872 , , . 


9,114 
. .. 10,050 


1866 , , , 


1873 



Even in the higher regions of Bovenland and Padang, where the 
cultivation is forced and the producers are bound to sell to the 
Government, the coffee plantations have increased fourfold, notwith- 
standing the inconvenience of the system. The Malays, finding it 
conduces to their well-being, have acquired habits of order and labour, 
and if the Colonial Government improves the means of transport, 
accords facilities of trade, and improves the moral condition of the 
people, there is yet a prosperous future before them. 

The formation of regular coffee plantations by the natives was 
commenced in Celebes in 1822. By the beginning of 1855 there 
were more than 5,000,000 coffee trees planted in Minahassa, but 
not all planted are yet bearing. In some districts the produce 
is as much as 2 to 4 lbs. per tree, while in others it is only from 
a half to three-quarters of a pound. The general character of the 
coffee is not very good, little care being given to the preparation ; but 
the quality of the beans from Menado is better, and of a palish green. 
The annual forced delivery of coffee to the Government at 15 florins 
the picul, between 1838 and 1842, only reached about 1,300,000 lbs. 
per annum. 

At Timor the Portuguese are encouraging the culture of coffee, 
and the best results are expected from the plantations made, although 
as yet the yield is small. The production was in 1862, 183,000 lbs. 

Fifty coffee trees are found in the course of four or five years to 
yield here 1 J cwt. of coffee ; but it is only by purchasing the coffee 
from the natives that the authorities can get coffee production ex- 
tended. At Amboyna some 50,000 trees have been planted. 

Coffee in tJie PJiilippines. — The export of coffee from Manila was in 
1864, 37,845 piculs of IJ cwt., and in 1874, 45,842 piculs. The 
value of the coffee exported in 1872 was stated at ^869,000,000, and 
in 1873 at Kl,126,000,000. This coffee is quite equal to that of 
Java ; the beans are medium sized, and of a pale-greenish colour. 

The plant thrives wonderfully in the Philippines, and its berry 

D 2 



36 



COFFEE, 



has so strongly marked a flavour that the worst Manila coffee com- 
mands as high a price as the best Java. In spite of this, however, 
the amount of coffee produced in the Philippines is very insignificant, 
and until lately scarcely deserved mention. In the early part of this 
century the coffee plant was almost unknown there, and represented 
only by a few specimens in the Botanical Gardens at Manila. It soon, 
however, increased and multiplied. The Economical Society bestirred 
itself by offering rewards to encourage the laying out of large coffee 
plantations. In 1837 it granted to M. de la Gironniere a premium 
of 1000 dollars for a coffee plantation of 10,000 trees, which were 
yielding their second harvest, and four premiums to others in the 
following year. But as soon as the rewards were obtained the planta- 
tions were once more allowed to fall into neglect. From this it is 
pretty evident that the enterj)rise in the face of the then market prices 
and the artificially high rates of freight did not afford a sufficient 
profit. 

In 1856 the exports of coffee were not more than 7000 piculs, in 
1865 they had increased to 37,588, and in 1871 to 53,370. This 
increase, however, affords no criterion by which to estimate the 
increase in the number of plantations, for these make no returns for 
the first few years after being laid out. In short, larger exports may 
be confidently expected. But even greatly increased exports could not 
be taken as correct measures of the colony's resources. 

Not till European capital calls large plantations into existence in 
the most suitable localities will the Philippines obtain their proper 
rank in the coffee-producing districts of the world. The best coffee 
comes from the provinces of Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite ; the worst 
from Mindanao. The latter, in consequence of careless treatment, is 
very impure, and generally contains a quantity of bad beans. The 
beans of Mindanao are of a yellowish-white colour, and flabby ; those 
of Laguna are smaller, but firmer in texture. Manila coffee is very 
highly esteemed by connoisseurs on the Continent, and is expensive, 
though it is by no means so nice looking as that of Ceylon and other 
more carefully prepared kinds.* 

Cultivation in Ceylon. — Ceylon is now by far the most important 
coffee-producing country of the British possessions. It would seem 
that the tree was taken to that island by the Dutch a little over two 
hundred years ago, but the first regular estates were only opened in 
1824, when Sir Edward Barnes and Sir George Bird commenced 
planting. The real rush for land dates from 1833, and coffee enter- 
prise was taken up largely in 1837. 

Coffee planting had been gradually extending up to 1844, and a 
considerable breadth of land of what would now be called low country 
estates, that is, land planted at an elevation from 1600 to 2500 feet, 
was then in full bearing. Up to this period the English consumption 
of coffee, restricted by a complicated system of differential duties, had 
been almost entirely confined to the produce of the British colonies 
and a small quantity of superior Mocha. 

It was known that within the tropics both Demerara and Berbice 
produced a coffee of highly approved quality in the London market. 

* Jagor's ' Travels in the Philippines.' 



tJOFFEE. 



37 



These countries lying at the level of the sea, a large quantity of the 
coffee of Jamaica being also grown on the plains of Liguanea, very 
little above the seaport of Kingston, and Mocha coffee being also sup- 
posed to be produced in a dry and hot country,* the effects of tempera- 
ture or altitude were forgotten or not considered to be a necessary 
condition. It may be observed also, that elevation and temperature, 
though they may be on the average the same in two different countries, 
are still not equal as conditions, inasmuch as soil, neighbourhood of 
or distance from mountains, combine to form other and varying circum- 
stances, in which few countries can be found absolutely to agree. 
Whilst Demerara rejoices in a similar temperature, she possesses a 
rich alluvial soil of many feet in depth, not liable to be removed by 
the rains, whilst Jamaica has a rich volcanic soil on her lower hills. 

The following extract, translated from the records of the Dutch 
Government by George Lee, Esq., shows the extent of coffee cultiva- 
tion more than one hundred years since : 

" Coffee is a cultivation to which the natives had been with great 
difficulty induced to attend, and unfortunately, when at last, in 1739, 
we had brought matters so far as to obtain from this island 100,000 lbs., 
the supply from Java and the West Indies became so large that our 
prices here could not be maintained, and we were forced insensibly 
to let this article of produce slide from us, or at least not to urge it 
on the natives in any manner whatever, in fact we reduced our cost 
prices from five to two stuivers, which was scarcely a rate to give 
compensation for the trouble of growing coffee. The disturbances at 
Java, however, have had a bad effect on their cultivation, and we have 
been ordered again to encourage the growth here, and to receive all 
that is offered us for purchase ; this state of things should be kept up, 
at least we should never have in store less than what is sufficient for 
one shipment. — Memoir left hy Governor Schreuder for the guidance of 
his successor, L. J. Van Eck, in 1762." 

The hill region of Ceylon covers an area of about 4000 square 
miles, is of a somewhat circular form, and its most elevated parts rise 
to 8280 feet above the level of the sea. Systematic cultivation is 
almost exclusively carried on on these hills, although irregular native 
garden plantations are found everywhere in the south-western portion 
of the island, even close to the sea-beacli. The favourite elevation is 
between 2000 and 3500 feet, but in a few exceptional cases estates 
descend almost to the foot of the hills, whilst others are situated at 
5500 feet, and even higher. The number of systematically worked 
coffee estates scattered all over these hills now amounts to 1087, 
covering an area of perhaps 440,000 acres, of which about 220,000 
acres are cultivated, producing nearly 1,000,000 cwts. of clean coffee, 
worth on the spot, say 3,000,000Z. sterling, and giving employment to 
912 superintendents and assistants, and upwards of 200,000 persons, 
chiefly Tamil labourers from the coast of India. This is exclusive of 
about 50,000 acres of coffee grown by natives. In the last five years 
there has been no abatement in the rapidly progressive rate with 

* Mocha coffee, as may be seen by the bean, is grown both on lowlands and like- 
wise on mountain heights, which makes the distinction of greenish small beiu-y and 
the Patna kind. 



38 



COFFEE. 



which planting operations have been carried on throughout the great 
forest reserve occupied by the younger and more flourishing coffee 
districts, Dimboola, Dickoya, and Maskelyia. 

Messrs. Ferguson, in their ' Ceylon Directory and Almanac,' fur- 
nish the following later and more complete statistics : 

" About 15,000 acres of new land have been planted, or felled for 
planting, since May 1874. In round numbers, the following is con- 
sidered a close approximate estimate for the position of the coffee, tea, 
and cinchona industries. Half a million acres of land, chiefly forest 
land, but including patna or grazing land, are held by estate pro- 
prietors, of which one-half is now under cultivation, divided into 
1215 plantations, managed by over 1000 resident superintendents, of 
whom about 950 are Europeans. Of tea, about 1100 acres are planted, 
or felled for planting ; of cinchona, 3000 acres ; and, deducting grass 
lands, 210,000 acres at least are put down for coffee ; while in the 
young districts between Great Western and Adam's Peak, over 7000 
acres have been added to the cultivated area since last year, averaging 
sixty new coffee plantations annually since 1869, equalling 111: square 
miles, and costing in the conversion at least one and a half million 
pounds. There is a large extent of young coffee not yet yielding a 
first good crop, estimated at 54,000 acres of coffee under four years of 
age, or very nearly equal to the total in bearing in 1856. 

Coffee land planted under 1 year 12,000 acres. 

2 years 29,500 „ 

4 „ 54,000 „ 

6 „ 73,000 „ 

The statistics previous to 1869 being imperfect, it is estimated that 
about 170,000 acres of the coffee land in cultivation are under twenty 
years of age, while probably two-thirds of the remainder, or 50,000 
acres, are well under thirty years. 

" As to labour, authentic returns show that not more than 170,000 
coolies were employed during the height of crops in 1871, and immi- 
gration returns state that the number of coolies in the island on 
1st January, 1875, was about 200,000, and for the next four years it 
is estimated that about 40,000 more than the above will be required. 

" The importations of manures, almost entirely for coffee plantations, 
are also interesting: 



£ 

1847 10 

1850 2,585 

1857 2,320 

1860 .. .. 4,050 

1863 20,280 

1865 29,265 

1866 16.776 

1867 25,289 



1868 33,188 

1869 46,603 

1870 73,866 

1871 65,239 

1872 19,042 

1873 33,197 

1874 61,256 



" In the valuation of coffee properties the usual allowance in full 
bearing is 40Z. per acre, and though a great deal of the 196,000 acres 
put down would not realise so much, yet if we take into account that 
so much as 1101. per acre has been paid in one of the favourite and 
younger districts, Uva, and counting buildings, machinery, and tools, 



COFFEE. 



39 



the datum of 40Z. per acre is really moderate ; and at 30Z. for young 
coffee, adding also 130,000 acres in private hands, as available for 
planting at 5/. per acre, we are enabled to arrive at the following 
estimate : 

£ 

196.000 acres full bearing at 40/. 7,840,000 

54.000 „ young coffee at 30/. 1,620,000 

130,000 „ forest laud at 5Z 650,000 

100,000 „ patna grass, &c., at 15s 75,000 



Total for plantations .. .. 10,185,000 
Add for native gardens at 25/. 1,125,000 

Total £11,310,000 



" If to this be added the value of factories, stores, offices in town, 
&c., the total present valuation of investment in the coffee industry of 
the island approaches the sum of 13,000,000Z." 

The coffee estates in the Badulla district are situate in two different 
directions ; those on the Badulla side lie in an easterly direction, and 
are mostly on spurs running out from Nammanakolie Kande, and those 
in a south-westerly direction on the Happootelle ranges. The eleva- 
tion of the estates above the level of the sea is from 2400 to 4800 feet. 
Those on the Happootelle side are from 25 to 37 miles from the town 
of Badulla ; those on the Badulla side from 3 to 12 miles. Badulla 
is 156 miles from Colombo, and 84 from Kandy. The heavy blossom 
appears in August and September. The principal crop is picked from 
April to July. A small crop, chiefly from young coffee, is picked 
from September to December. 

The crop available for export has already doubled in twenty-five 
years. It would seem that if the problem is solved, of sufficiently 
maintaining, by manure and proper cultivation, the bulk of the present 
estates, so as to continue an average yield, there are resoui'ces in Ceylon 
which ought to carry the crop eventually to nearly double the present 
export of coffee. It will be a long time before that result can be 
realised, if it ever comes, but in 1880 there ought to be crops averaging 
1,500,000 cwts. of coffee, plantation and native, to deal with. In the 
five years ending 1875 we get an average annual export of 710,806 
cwts. of plantation coffee, which, for 220,000 acres under culture, 
would give a rate of about 3 cwts. per acre. Of the land planted or 
tilled, however, it must be remembered that 40,000 acres must be 
classed as " young coffee," and of this a great proportion has not yet 
borne a berry. Again, there is a considerable extent of old worn-out 
coffee land, yielding, perhaps, 2 or 3 cwts. per acre. Making 
allowance, therefore, for these circumstances, the average yield, even 
during the last three variable seasons, cannot be much less than 
5 cwts. per acre. The native cultivation of coffee has usually been 
calculated to extend over 50,000 acres, but it varies very much 
according to the character of the season, the prices of produce, and 
the cheapness of money. The quantity of native coffee shipped in the 
five years was 497,080 cwts., giving an average of 124,270 cwts., or a 
total average of 835,076 cwts. 



40 



COFFEE. 



The progressive increase in coffee production in Ceylon is shown 
by the following figures of the exports at decennial periods : 

Cwts. ' Cwts. 

1836 60,329 I 1866 899,480 

18-16 173,892 1875 967,700 

1856 445,568 1 

In each of the two years, 1868 and 1870, the shipments exceeded 
one million cwts. 

In commencing coffee planting the fii'st step is the selection of 
ground. A virgin forest soil on the slopes of the mountains about 
3000 feet above the level of the sea is most suitable. A con- 
venient spot should next be chosen for a nursery to be planted with 
seed or parchment coffee. The forest should then be cut down, lopped, 
and in five or six weeks burnt. When the clearing and roads are 
finished, the ground should be lined, holed, and planted with plants 
from the nm'sery, which will be then from nine to twelve months 
old. During the growth of the plants the ground must be kept cleai' 
of weeds, and the buildings for machinery, according to a good plan, 
should be at once commenced. By the time these buildings, together 
with the machinery, are erected (say three years) the coffee is ready 
to be picked. The next operation, and by far the first in importance, 
is pulping the coffee. The machine most extensively used is an 
Improved Pulper, manufactured by John Gordon and Co., London, 
who have for many years supplied the Ceylon and Indian planters 
with this and every other kind of coffee machinery. The coffee is 
run into the pulper by means of a stream of water. Here the pulp 
is separated from the seeds, which fall into a cistern, where they 
remain from eighteen to twenty-four hours without water. After this 
time has elapsed the cistern is supplied with rimning water, and all 
the glutinous matter is by this means washed away. On some planta- 
tions a washing machine is used. It is then dried, by a machine 
made for the purpose, or in the sun. Having been stored away for 
two or three weeks it is again placed in the sun to finish diying. 
This is comjDleted if the bean crack freely between the teeth, and it 
is not until then ready for the peeling mill, which removes the parch- 
ment and silver skin from the bean. It is next passed through the 
fan or ventilator into a sizing machine (about eighteen feet in length), 
which takes out the broken coffee and sej)arates the beans into different 
sizes. This not only causes the coflee to roast equally (a quality 
which raises its value in the market), but also separates the pea-berry, 
or round coffee, which brings a much higher price. 

Mr. W. Sabonadiere, an old planter, speaking of the best elevation ~ 
above the sea at which coffee shou.ld be j)lanted, states that in Ceylon 
undoubtedly that from 2000 to 3500 feet is the best, but climate has 
also a good deal to do with it. Coffee grows well at Kaigalle, 
Kornegalle, and in the Doombera valley between 800 and 1500 feet 
above the sea. In Oavah coffee bears well at between 4000 and 
5000 feet above the sea, owing to the dry air and climate ; while, 
on the more western side of the island, at the same elevation, 
it either bears only 2 or 3 cwts. an acre, is a mass of leaves, or 



COFFEE. 



41 



gets covered with black bug; the two latter being chiefly caused 
by the extreme quantity of rain that falls. He sums up with the 
opinion that a dark chocolate-coloured soil, mixed with small stones, 
under ledges of rock, and bestrewn with boulders, is the most suitable 
for coffee trees ; and that the best medium elevation is, say 3000 
feet above the level of the sea. In forming a nursery one bushel 
of parchment coffee is calculated to yield about 30,000 plants ; 
so that for a clearing of 100 acres four or five bushels of seed would 
be required. The placing of the plants in the holes is the one ope- 
ration that requires the utmost care and attention. The planting 
season commences in May and extends to the end of November. 

Those who intend to embark in coffee culture in Ceylon, should 
certainly procure a copy of Mr. Sabonadiere's ' Coffee Planter in 
Ceylon,' published by E. and F. N. Spon, London. 

Mr. E. J. Corbet, an experienced coffee planter, thus speaks of 
manuring and pruning, observations which are worth attention : 

" The 'Eothschild estate,' thirty years planted, consists of 927 acres 
of coffee in bearing ; the number of cattle kept was about three hundred 
and fifty head and nearly one hundred pigs ; besides the high road 
which forms one boundary of the property, two cart roads traverse the 
whole length of the estate, greatly facilitating manuring operations. 
From 1865, when the Ceylon Company, Limited, purchased the estate 
from the Messrs. Worms, to 1871, the crops averaged 9^ cwts. per 
acre, two out of the six reached 11 J cwts. per acre. One-third of the 
estate is planted on patna soil ; but in Puselawa patna soils are above 
the average, though still requiring annual manuring. Enough manure 
was made on the estate, including cattle, pig, pulpers, bazaar, road, 
and lines' sweepings, all made into a compost, to go over 250 acres. 
Castor oil poonac (oilcake), bone-dust, or superphosphate of lime, and 
other artificial manures sufficient for 300 or 400 acres were applied 
besides, but for the portions planted in patna soil, manuring half the 
estate yearly, would have been enough to keep up the average yield 
of between 9 and 10 cwts. per acre. 

" The result of my experience on that and other estates ranging from 
500 up to 5000 feet, extending as far back as twenty years, have 
convinced me of the following facts, which cannot be too strongly 
impressed upon those who may have the lesson to learn. 

"1st. That all manures should be applied as near the surface as pos- 
sible without actual exposure, and round the tree where practicable, 
but not too near, 

" 2nd. That care should be taken to avoid injuring the main lateral 
roots as much as practicable. 

" 3rd. That thoroughly mixing, or incorporating the manures, of 
whatever nature, in the trench is a most important point, a not un- 
common method being to throw the manure in a lump into the hole, 
which is usually about twice the depth necessary, trample it down 
perhaps, and cover it over, upon the principle, T suppose, ' out of 
sight, out of mind.' There is more money sunk in ignorant and 
careless systems of manuring, and in severe and injudicious pruning, 
than proprietors think. Too severe pruning, especially upon the 
higher estates over 3000 or 3500 feet, has much to do with short 



42 



COFFEE. 



crops. Thousands upon thousands' worth of crop are yearly cut 
away. Many planters, and experienced ones too, prune their trees 
to bear to a certain average according to the capabilities of the 
soil and the climate they have to deal with, oblivious that drought, 
or excessive rain, or high winds, or some other of the ills coffee 
is heir to, may deprive the trees of a large percentage of their 
berries, in almost any stage of development. It is more prudent to 
prune for a heavier crop, than it is to prune lighter, if all the blossoms 
set, and if apprehensions are entertained of the trees overbearing, 
they can be backed up in time, but this must be done in May, June, 
and July, at the latest, with some quick acting manure, such as 
poonac, superphosphate of lime, and a little guano, or sulphate of 
ammonia added ; a liquid manure poured over the compost will be 
found a good substitute. If all the crop does not come forward, and 
blossoms do not set well, you have a better chance of securing your 
average, than if you had pruned heavily, to a fixed standard. 

" Frequent and judicious handling is another very important matter. 
The usual practice is to handle twice a year, foui' times would be far 
more advantageous ; but it must be done with much greater care than 
is customary with some planters ; women and childrenj often with 
little or no preparatory training, are put to this work. The most 
essential point to be considered, especially upon high estates where 
wood matures more slowly, is the retention of those shoots you require 
not only to carry your next, but the following crop as well, and to 
strengthen these shoots by giving them all the nourishment possible ; 
you must remove all superfluous ones as they appear. I need scarcely 
add that the riper the wood the better the chance of crop, but every 
planter does not know that at elevations of 4000 feet and upwards it 
takes two years to mature wood properly. 

" Again, as regards manuring, upon the supposition that you have a 
worn-out or neglected estate to deal with, don't be discoui'aged if the 
first application of manure, or even the second, in extreme cases, does 
not give the results you anticipate. Don't manure too heavily at 
first in such cases ; you force the trees beyond their strength, and you 
waste money. Eecollect that you have to put the trees into condition. 
First of all you have to restore their partially dried-up arteries 
through which the impoverished sap is only languidly circulating. 
Your first application will give tone and quality to the sap ; the tree 
will begin to show signs of increased vitality, and throw out wood. 
Don't allow too great an excess of that ; select the shoots you wish to 
keep for the next year, remove the rest, especially the old sickly 
attenuated wood, but leave rather more than less of the new. Follow 
up with another manuring, of a more stimulating nature, and you may 
depend upon a crop in nineteen cases out of twenty, but on no account, 
because you have got it, think that you have done enough, that you 
may rest from your labours, and that pruning and regular weeding 
will now be sufficient ; you are still dealing with an invalid, though 
convalescent, not cured. Persist in the same course ; never leave off 
manuring, even for one year, it is ruination, your patient would lose 
more in one than it had previously made in two years, under generous 
treatment ; and you could probably never recover the lost ground. 



COFFEE. 



43 



Bear in mind that high cultivation, once commenced, must he kept up. 
I could furnish numerous instances of the disastrous results of starving 
estates that had been well cultivated, in which the miserable, false, 
and short-sighted economy practised has cost their owners thousands, 
aye scores of thousands, let alone the deterioration of properties 
themselves." 

Coffee Pes/s.— Coffee is a remarkably hardy plant, thriving at 
various elevations, and under the most different conditions of mois- 
ture, soil, and temperature. It is, however, liable to the attacks of 
certain insects, amongst which the borer is the most formidable. 
This has been shown by Dr. George Bidie, in a published report, 
to be the larva of a beetle belonging to the Cerambycidse, and termed 
the Xylotrechus quadrupes. Hardy as it is, the tree is a dreadful 
sufferer, and there is scarcely a time when it is entirely free from 
disease within, or from attacks of enemies from without. Grub, 
borer, bug, drought, the damp and the leaf disease, are a few of its 
enemies, and it will be well to touch upon some of these. 

Mr. J. Nietner has given in the Ceylon papers an interesting 
notice of noxious insects to coffee, which it is desirable to republish 
as furnishing a useful contribution to biographical and economic 
entomology — a branch of the science which is now being daily more 
and more appreciated. In judging of apparently trivial passages 
as well as of scientific technicalities, which occur in the text, this 
must be borne in mind. To those planters who would wish for 
more elementary explanations I can strongly recommend * West- 
wood's Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects,' 2 vols., 
with numerous woodcuts, as a most excellent and exhaustive source 
of information. 

The numerical list given below might easily be doubled by minute 
research in the outlying districts, and introduction of unimportant 
species. In fact the brown and white bug, and the black and white 
grub, are the only universal and important enemies of the coffee tree 
in Ceylon. The destructions of Arhines, Limacodes, Zeuzera, Phy- 
matea, Strachia, the white ant and the white borer, and the coffee rat, 
appear to be of a more local and occasional nature, and are therefore 
of less importance. The rest of the species are nearly all enumerated 
for the sake of scientific completeness only. 

ENEMIES OF THE COFFEE TEEE AND THEIE PAEASITES. 
Hemiptera. 

Fseudococcus Adonidum, L. (White or mealy bug.) 

Parasites : Scymnus rotundatus. Motch. Et. ent. 1859. 
Encyrtus Nietnen. Motch. loc. cit. 
Chartocerns musciformis, Motch. loc. cit. 
Acarus translucens, N. 
Lecanium coffece. Walk. List Ins. B. M. (Brown or scaly bug.) 
Parasites : ScuteUiata cyanea. Motch. loc. cit. 

Cephaleta purpureiventris. Motch. loc. cit. 
„ hrunneiventris. Motch. loc. cit. 
„ fusciventris. Motch. in litt. 
Encyrtus par adisicus. Motch. iu litt. 

„ Nietneri. Motch. 
Cirrhospilus coccivorus, Motch. in litt. 



44 



COFFEE, 



Marietta leopardina. N. in litt. 

Chilocorus circumdatus. Schonh. 

Acarus translucens, N. 
Lecanium nigrum, N. (Black bug.) 
Syndadium Nietneri. Kabh. Dresd. Hedwig. 1858. 
Tri^oosporium Gardneri. Berk. J. Hort. Soc. Lond. 1849. (A fungus.) 
Aphis coffees, N. (Coffee louse.) 

Parasites : Syrphus Nietneri. Schiner in litt. 
„ splendens. Dolesh. 

Micromus anstralis. Hag. Verh. Wien. z-b. G. 1858. 
Strachia geometrica. Motch. in litt. 

Lepidopteea. 
Aloa lactinea. Cram. pap. ex. 
Orgyia Ceylanica, N. 
Euproctis virguncula. Walk. loc. cit. 
Trichia exigua. Feld. in litt. 
Narosa conspersa. Walk. loc. cit. 
Limacodes graciosa, Westw. Ent. cab. 
Zeuzera coffece, N. (Red borer.) 
Agrotis segetum. Wien. V. (Black grub.) 
Galleriomorpha lichenoides. Feld. in litt. 
Boarmia Ceylanicaria, Feld, in litt. 

„ leucostigmaria. Feld. in litt. 
Eupithecia coffearia. Feld. in litt. 
Tortrix „ Feld. in litt. 

Gracilaria ? coffeifoUella. Motch. loc. cit. 

Neuropteka. 
Termes fatalis. Ksenig. (White ant.) 

DiPTERA. 

Anthomyza ? coffece, N. in Motch. loc. cit. 

Orthoptera. 

Phyniatea punctata, D. 

Coleoptera. 

Ancylonyclia spec ? (White grub.) 

Xylotrechus quadrupes. Chevt. (White or Indian borer.) 
Ai'hines ? destructor, N. 

Aptera. 

Acarus coffees, N. 

Mammalia. 

Golunda Ellioti. Gray in Kel. Prod. (Coffee rat.) 

Desckiptions and Observations. — Pseudococcus Adonidum (white or 
mealy bug). Male : Head rather square, enlarged behind and rounded 
off at the posterior angles ; eyes prominent, black ; ocelli two, small, 
lateral ; antennae nine-jointed, second joint longest, third shortest, 
four-ninths subequal ; mouth externally represented by two black 
knobs resembling blunted mandibles. Thorax ample, oblong — quad- 
rate, enlarged at the shoulders ; wings two, ample, two-nerved, hyaline, 
strongly iridescent, laid straight down the back, half overlapping each 
other when at rest. Scutellum ample, transverse, rounded at the apex. 
Abdomen subcylindrical, of shrivelled appearance, with two long 
anal setae, which are slightly curled, and of mealy, brittle consistence. 
The insect is of ligbt dirty-brownish colour and slightly hairy ; it is 



COFFEE. 



45 



very minute (very mucli smaller than the female ; only about a 
quarter line long), and resembles certain small Epbemeridae or May 
flies. 

Female : Apterous, oval, brownish-purple, covered with a white 
mealy powder which forms a stiff fringe at the margin (one tooth or 
tuft to each segment on either side), and at the extremity of the 
abdomen two setae. The back is laid out in three longitudinal and a 
number of transverse corrugations, the latter corresponding with the 
number of segments, upon each of the three longitudinal corrugations 
the mealy secretion forms a sort of ridge cap. The feelers, legs, and 
promuscis, are of light-brown colour and slightly hairy. The former 
are setaceous, eight-jointed (the last joint being the longest), nearly as 
long as the legs and porrected. The promuscis is situated between 
the anterior pair of legs, having a few hairs, but no sucking bristles 
at the tip. 

The larvae and pupae of the female resemble the perfect insect, but 
are on a smaller and less perfect scale. In the male pupa wings and 
anal setae are rudimental, in the male larvge absent. These imperfect 
males rather resemble young Psoci or Aphides, but they carry the 
antennae turned backwards, along the sides of the body. The larvae 
and pupae are active — move about. 

The insects, in all stages of development, are found all the year 
round, the propagation being continuous. It appears to me, however, 
that the males are most plentiful about June and January than at any 
other season. They affect dry, hot localities, and are found as well on 
the branches as on the roots of the trees, to about one foot under 
ground. The eggs are actually laid and enveloped in a white cottony 
substance ; they are oval and of yellow colour. I am not sure that 
there are not two species in the island, as I find some communities 
rather flatter and more densely covered with meal. However, these 
may be local varieties. The white bug of the Ceylon coffee tree seems 
to be identical with the species which is naturalized in the conser- 
vatories of Europe, and is, perhaps, a cosmopolite. It is closely 
allied to the cochineal insect. There are several insects in the 
island, resembling the white bug, but of the size of a sixpenny, and 
even shilling-piece, these belong to the genus Dorthesia, and I have 
generally found the up-country species upon the stem of a laurel — 
Tetranthera Gardneri, Thw. 

The white bug is preyed upon by the larva of Scymnus rotundatus. 
— This is a minute beetle of the lady-bird tribe, as big as a 
pin's head, black and pubescent. The larva greatly resembles the 
white bug and might easily be mistaken for it. It is, however, 
longer, narrower, flatter, and of a yellow colour, but covered thickly 
with stiff white hair of the same cottony substance as those of 
the bug. This covering is occasionally renewed, and is especially 
thick when the metamorphosis is at hand. This latter the larva 
undergoes in a thin oval cocoon, to which the white covering of the 
larva remains externally attached. This larva is very active and 
attaches itself to the under side of the bug. Westwood, Introd., vol. 
i. 398, mentions the larva of a Scymnus feeding upon Aphides, and 
vol. ii. 443, feeding upon Aleurodes. The larva of the Scymnus is 



46 



COFFEE. 



an external parasite, and M. de Motchulsky is wrong in stating that I 
had discovered it " dans le Pseudococcus." 

The white bug is also preyed upon by the larvas of Encyrtus Nietneri 
and Ghartocerus musciformis, two minute Hymenoptera (wasj)s), the 
former of a yellowish colour and common, the latter black and 
scarcer. There is also a very minute whitish translucent mite, which 
is found mixed up with the bug, and no doubt injures it to some 
extent. I will call it Acarus transhicens. 

Lecanium Coffece (brown or scaly bug). — Male : Head transversely 
ovate-rotundate, narrowed, and square in front ; eyes large, black ; 
ocelli two, small, lateral ; antenn£e nine-jointed, second joint smallest ; 
third longest, thence decreasing to the tip ; mouth as in the male of 
the white bug ; thorax ample, cordiform, narrowed in front ; wings 
two, hyaline, two-nerved, subcostal nerve dark pink, not folded 
straight down the back when at rest, but half spread out ; scutellum 
as in white bug; abdomen triangular, subcylindrical, of shrivelled 
appearance, with two lateral points, one central appendage, and two 
long, thin, white filaments at the extremity. The insect is still more 
delicate than the male Pseudococcus, of clear, light, pinkish-brown 
colour, slightly hairy ; very pretty. 

Female : Apterous, tortoise-like, yellowish, marbled with grey or 
light brown, suboval, more or less semi-globose according to age ; 
back with one elevated longitudinal, and two transverse costae, uneven ; 
split behind, at the extremity of a split bifid anal flab of brown 
colour ; eyes marginal, black ; antennae seven-jointed, third joint 
longest ; promuscis with one long sucking bristle. The old indi- 
viduals are light brown, with a dark margin, smooth, semi-globose, 
fixed to the branch. 

Larvae of female with two anal filaments, which are lost in after- 
life. The larvae and pupae of both sexes are active, with the exception 
of the male pupa, which is plentiful on the under side of the leaves, 
where the long, narrow, oval shell, under which it rests, is easily dis- 
covered. This shell is transparent, and composed of nine plates, three 
central and three on either side. I have occasionally found the entire 
under side of leaves covered with nothing but male pupi-e, all dead. 
This species of bug affects elevated (above 3000 feet), cold, damp, 
close localities, where it is found in all stages of development 
all the year round, the propagation being, as in the white bug, con- 
tinuous. As in the latter species, the males seem to be more abun- 
dant about June and January than at any other season. The eggs, 
which are oval and of pinkish colour, are not actually brought forth 
by the female ; but when they are matured the parent insect dies, the 
whole interior forming one mass of eggs protected by the shell. 

This kind of bug is closely allied to the lac insect (Coccus Lacea, K.) 
of India. 

The brown bug is much infested by parasites, amongst which the 
following are the most common : — Scutellista cyanea, Encyrtus Nietneri, 
Encyrtus paradisicus, Cephaleta purpureiventris, Cephaleta hrunneiven- 
iris, Cephaleta fusciventris, Cirrliospilus coccivorus, Marietta leopardina. 

These are all Hymenoptera of the most minute description, pre- 
senting under the microscope the most elegant forms, and, for the 



COFFEE. 



47 



most part, the most brilliant metallic colours. The Marietta, for 
instance, is spotted or ocellated all over black and white, like a 
leopard. They can easily be obtained by putting a bugged branch, 
cut in convenient lengths, into a bottle, when, after some time, the 
little wasps will be found flying about inside, having made their 
escape from the bugs. The mother parasite lays her eggs amongst 
the bugs ; when hatched, the young larvae find their way easily to the 
soft under side of the bugs, where they attach themselves like leeches, 
and, protected and fed by the body of the bug, remain until they 
reach the perfect state. A bug thus attacked produces, of course, no 
eggs, and instead of the young bugs, in course of time there escape 
these little wasps. The shells of the old bugs are frequently found 
with one or two holes; it is from these that the parasites have 
escaped. I have seen as many as six larvae (belonging to different 
species of Hymenoptera) attached to one single bug. These larvae 
can easily be seen on turning up some old bugs with the point of 
a penknife; they are little white or yellowish, eyeless and footless 
maggots, some of which can leap to a considerable distance by 
doubling themselves up and spasmodically extending themselves 
again to their full length. 

On examining old, full-grown bugs, the shells are often found filled, 
not with eggs, but with a white flaky substance, amongst which the 
above-mentioned mite, Acarus translucens, is seen busy. I have 
thought that the mite might have been the destroyer of the eggs in 
these cases, and that the flaky substance was the empty and decom- 
posing egg-shells, but do not feel certain on this subject. The 
planter has another friend in the larva of a kind of lady-bird, which 
feeds upon the bug, viz. that of the Ghilocorus circumdatus (Syn. Ch. 
nigro-marginatus, N. in Motch. Et.). This larva is of ashy-grey 
colour, furnished with black spots and rows of black spines. The 
perfect insect resembles a full-grown bug, being semi-globose, light 
brown, with black margin round the elytra. There is a variety which 
is altogether dark brown. The larva skin splits, but is not thrown 
off when the insect assumes the pupa state. When the imago, or per- 
fect insect, issues from its double shell, it is white, turns round (head 
towards tail of skins), and sits in this position upon its former en- 
velopes for twenty-four hours before it moves off. During this time 
it gains its proper colouring. It is common at all seasons, but 
especially from March to September, and in all stages of the meta- 
morphosis, the larva generally fixing itself to the under side of the 
leaf when its transformation approaches. 

White or Indian Borer (Xylotrechus quadrupes, Chev.). — This is a 
longicorn beetle of the tribe of the Chjtidce, or wasp-beetles of 
England (so called from their resemblance to wasps with regard to 
their system of coloration). Its ravages amongst the coffee estates 
of Southern India of late years are too well known to need allusion 
here, more especially as they have called forth the able works of 
Colonel Taylor and Dr. Bidie, the latter being commissioned by the 
Madras Government to investigate and report on the subject officially 
— an honour offered to myself, but which circumstances prevented me 
from accepting. I therefore confine my remarks to the doings of 



48 



COFFEE. 



the insect in tliis island : for we have it here — but, fortunately, not in 
great numbers. In fact, the only instance in which I have heard it 
complained of is that of a gentleman in Ouda Puselawa, who, in 
1869, wrote to me on the subject, sending me specimens of the insect 
which are now before me, and leave no doubt that it is the real white 
horer. He said that he had then known it for six years, that lately 
he had lost Jive acres of coffee by it, and that he kept regular horer- 
catcliers. He also informed me that the villagers in the neighbourhood 
professed to have known it time out of mind and called it " Panova" 
(However, this is a general term for wood- boring insects.) 

The white borer, in its perfect state, is, like its congeners at home, 
an active elegant beetle, delighting in hot sunshine and old palings. 
It is from a half to three-quarters of an inch long, black, with whitish or 
yellowish bands across the elytra, the three latter of the bands forming 
the inverted letter V. — The four posterior femora are of pink colour. 
The insect is thus easily distinguished from other species of the genus 
which occur in this island. 

It is in the larva state that it destroys the coffee trees, the perfect 
insect laying its eggs upon the stem of the tree, whence the young 
larva find their way into the inside. 

The nature of the destruction is the same as that of the red borer, 
but the Xyloirechus is much more numerous, so that dozens of the 
insects reside in one tree, whereas of the former I have never found 
more than one or two individuals together. 

Dr. Bidie writes to me that he thinks shade is the only remedy on 
the South Indian estates. For the last couple of years we have not 
heard so much about its ravages, which are probably diminishing; 
but a short time ago the Xyloirechus was undoubtedly the most 
formidable, tangible enemy the coffee tree had. Hundreds upon 
hundreds of acres of coffee were totally destroyed by it in South 
India, and in fact it was at that time feared that the whole of the 
coffee estates in Coorg and Wynaad might be extinguished by it. 

Arhines ? destructor. — This is a beautiful green weevil, two and a 
half inches long and one broad, oval, narrowed in front, covered all 
over with closely set but isolated gold-green scales, winged. The 
head is rather short and blunt ; antennaD apical, elbowed at the 
middle, the part beyond the middle being composed of eleven joints, 
forming a club towards the end, the third joint from the tip being the 
thickest ; they are brown, hairy beyond the middle ; the thorax is 
plump, subconical ; the anterior legs are the longest, the second pair 
the shortest, the tibias and tarsi of all are hairy, the tarsi with hairy 
brushes underneath, especially thick at the third joint which is deeply 
two-lobed ; the tibiaa of the second pair are long, serrated inside, 
curved and two-hooked at the apex. The insect varies considerably 
in size and colour. 

This pretty beetle is common during the dry weather, but I have 
never found it do any injury to the coffee. Mr. James Eose, of 
Maturatta, who first directed my attention to it, wrote to me : — " The 
mischief they do to the coffee is really frightful, and if they were as 
plentiful as the bug, they would be our worst enemies. Five or six 
acres were completely covered with them, and they consumed almost 



COFFEE. 



49 



every leaf. Year after year they appeared upon the same place. In 
May, when these insects disappear, the logs and rocks may be seen 
strewed with their bright green elytra." 

The family of the weevils is one of the most extensive amongst the 
beetles, and many of its members both here and in Europe do much 
injury to agricultural produce. I have seen nearly the whole sweet 
potato (Batatas edulis) crop of the Negombo district destroyed by one 
of them, the Cylas turcijpennis. The common rice-weevil (SitopMlus 
Oryzce) is another instance, and one of the cocoanut destroyers of 
the low country belongs also to this family, the Sj)hcenopJiorus 
planipennis. 

Acarus Coffece. —This is a very minute mite, hardly perceptible to 
the naked eye, which feeds upon the coffee leaves nearly all the year 
round, but more commonly from November to April, giving them a 
brownish sun-burnt appearance. The damage it does is not great in 
the aggregate, but individual trees certainly suffer from it. It is 
closely allied to the " red spider " of the hothouses in Europe ; oval, 
naked, light red, abdomen darker, four rows of hair along the back, 
legs hairy. It feeds on the upper side of the leaves where, amongst 
the live insects, empty skins and minute red globules are found in 
plenty. These globules are fixed by a style to the leaf, and are the 
young in the first stage of existence ; -the style is the mouth, but the 
rest of the body is a perfect globule without any appendages whatever. 
These latter, however, gradually break forth, and when the animalcule 
is furnished with all it requires, it lets go its hold. 

Coffee rat {Golunda ElUoti). — This well-known animal does not 
habitually reside on coffee estates, but comes, apparently, when its 
food fails, from the jungle to the neighbou.ring estates to supply its 
wants there. Hence, estates with much surrounding jungle are more 
liable to be infested than others, in the same way as the fields ad- 
joining the jungle suffer more than the more remote ones. 

With their long sharp incisors they bite aff the smaller and 
younger branches of the trees, beautifully, regularly, and smooth, and 
generally one inch or so from the stem, so as to allow them to rest 
upon the stump whilst they are gnawing it through. Should the plants 
be quite young, just taken from the nursery, they bite them right off 
a few inches from the ground. Their object in doing this is, no doubt, 
first to get, like other rodentia, at the bark, which they do not appear 
to devour entirely, but simply to masticate for the sake of the juice, 
but probably they act in this respect in accordance with the state 
of their appetite ; and secondly to get the leaves for their nests. 
These latter are commonly found in hollow trees, whither they also 
drag the bitten-off branches. They seldom appear to eat the berries. 
They are destroyed either by poison or by traps, in which latter 
enormous numbers are said to have been caught, There is hardly an 
estate that does not now and then receive a visit from them. 

A small squirrel, a dark variety of the common palm-squirrel of 
the low country (^Sciurus three- Vittatus) is commonly found about 
coffee estates : this does what the rat apparently does not — eats the 
berries, which, being indigestible with the exception of the outside 
pulp, are afterwards dropped and found upon logs and on the ground, 

E 



50 



COFFEE. 



in the shape of parchment coffee. Jackals and monkeys occasionally 
do the same, and a deer will now and then come from the forest and 
nibble the tops of the young trees ; but these are not serious injuries. 
Far more so, are those arising from the trespass of the buffalo. 

The coffee leaf fungus, Hemilia vastatrix, is another anxiety of the 
coffee planters. Leaf disease in coffee has now assumed an aspect so 
serious that the fullest possible investigation into its cause or causes, 
nature, effect, and the possible remedies, can no longer be avoided. 

Very contradictory are the opinions of jjlanters themselves with 
reference to this pest of the coffee tree. We have heard from more 
than one quarter that sj)lendid crops follow severe attacks of leaf 
disease ; from another that short crops are the result. One planter 
will tell you that trees badly affected one season show little sign of 
the disease the next, while others say that the trees worst affected one 
year are similarly circumstanced under subsequent appearances of the 
disease on their estates. At certain periods of the growth of the tree, 
young branches seem to be perfectly free from disease, and yet they 
become affected gradually at a later stage. Fui'ther experience of the 
characteristics of the disease is evidently required before definite con- 
clusions as to its course and incidence can be arrived at, and it would 
be well to have the results of the observation of experienced planters 
in order to aid scientific inquiry on the subject. 

It would be interesting and useful to know whether the disease is 
more prevalent in a dry district than a wet one. Whether old trees 
are attacked by it more readily than young. Whether old coffee that 
has been manured with cattle manure, or other bulky manui'es, suffers 
as much from it as coffee that has had chemical manures applied to it ; 
and whether the aspect of the estate has anything to do with it, &c. 

Production in British India. — Passing from the island of Ceylon, 
we reach the peninsula of India, where, under British enterprise, 
coffee cultivation is making rapid progress from the greater facility 
of obtaining labaur. It is this insuperable difiSculty which has 
crippled production in our West Indian possessions, and led to the 
transfer of the culture of many of the leading staples of commerce 
from the western to the eastern hemisphere. 

Coffee is now a much more important article of agriculture in India, 
Ceylon, Java, and Brazil, than in its native countries. It is not much 
more than half a century ago that the coffee plant was first introduced 
into Bengal. The origin of coffee culture in India is due to some 
refugees from the Philippines, and has been detailed circumstantially 
by the late Mr. J. S. Buckingham. Suffice it to say that about 1820 
an insurrection of the native Indians of the Philippine Islands, against 
their conquerors the Spaniards, di'ove almost every white man from that 
country, and some few of these sought refuge in Calcutta. Among 
others were two Frenchmen, who had been for some years successful 
cultivators of coffee at Manila, but who, though wealthy by their 
possessions there, barely escaped with their lives. A subscription 
was raised for them by the merchants, money advanced, the requisite 
land purchased, the coffee plant cultivated on it ; and from this source 
has sprung all the subsequent increase which makes the present pro- 
duction of India about 50,000,000 lbs. 



COFFEE. 



61 



The production of Indian coffee is confined almost entirely to the 
Madras Presidency, the native states of Travancore, Mysore, and 
Coorg. The fluctuations of the trade, which are often considerable, 
are to be explained by the deficiency or abundance of crops, according 
as the season is unfavourable or the reverse. Crops have often been 
materially affected too by the ravages of the " borer," by rot, as well 
also (and this is a large element in the influences which have from time 
to time affected injuriously the out-turn of the crops) by the want of 
knowledge of proper conditions of culture on the part of those 
engaged in the cultivation, both Europeans and natives. The in- 
dustry has been long established in Southern India, and Europeans 
have engaged in it for upwards of forty years. 

The cultivation has now settled down into a steady and prosperous 
industry, in which natives are largely occupied as well as Europeans ; 
but, like tea, before attaining this last stage, it went through all the 
phases of wild speculation. From 1800 to 1863 or 1864, there was 
quite a mania for the cultivation of coffee. Land was bought reck- 
lessly, without regard to its suitability, cleared and brought into 
cultivation at enormous expense, and, in many cases, ruinous loss ulti- 
mately. Great sums of money were wasted in this speculative period, 
which was followed by the inevitable reaction and depression. This 
period has long passed, and planters understand now that they cannot 
hope for the visionary profits of which they were formerly assured ; 
but the cultivation of coffee is, with care and intelligence, a steady 
and prosperous support to those engaged in the industry. 

It is a noticeable fact, as showing the wide range of the plant, that 
in many of the countries where coffee culture has been introduced, 
species have been found indigenous, such as Goffea alpestris, grume- 
hides, and WigJitiana, in the Neilgherry hills ; 0. Mauritiana^ in 
Bourbon ; and G. Liherica, in "Western Africa. 

Although the coffee tree will not refuse to grow and even bear crop in 
countries subject to frost and snow, and extreme warmth is not abso- 
lutely necessary to its existence, still experience shows that it 
flourishes and bears fruit abundantly only within the tropics. In 
Southern India and Ceylon the elevation at which the estates are 
situated varies considerably, from nearly 6000 feet above sea-level to 
so low as 400 and even 300 feet. It has been asserted that coffee re- 
quires a great deal of moisture ; and a humid atmosphere, combined 
with a warm temperature, will encourage trees to bear most heavily. 
The latter requirement must not be overlooked, as it is well known 
that, on very elevated estates, where an almost perpetual mist and 
frequent rains furnish more than an adequate supply of moistm-e, but 
where, however, the air is seldom warm, even when the sun shines 
brightly, the coffee trees, even in sheltered situations, though they 
sometimes present a healthy and even luxurious appearance, bear but 
very little crop. Such situations also prove, in many cases, strong- 
holds of the blight called black bug. Hence few experienced planters 
would think of establishing a garden at an elevation above 4000 feet ; 
though, if the asj)ect and soil be exceptionally favourable, coffee may 
thrive well and yield heavy crops at an elevation of even 6000 feet. 
In situations between 2000 and 4000 feet above sea-level, the climate 

E 2 



52 



COFFEE. 



and temperature required by coffee will generally be found. In ele- 
vations below 2000 feet, tlie great beat of tbe climate causes so rapid 
a growtb of vegetation that it is extremely difficult to keep down 
tbe weeds, and wbere, as at a tolerable elevation, one monthly 
weeding would be amply sufficient, two at a lower elevation would be 
quite necessary to keep an estate clean. Moreover, the malarious 
atmosphere of estates in low situations is a condition which, though 
suited to the coffee plant, is not conducive to human health. 

The most suitable soil in the East Indies for the coffee plant is that 
which grows soft timber. The latest authorities seem to confirm 
the opinion of Laborie, who observes : " If the first or tap-root 
finds the gravel, stone, or clay, the tree will not last long ; but 
if it, as well as the roots, find their way through the stony ground, 
and if there be a good proportion of mould, it suffers no inconve- 
nience, as the stones keep the mould together." The finest estates 
are said to be of this latter character of soil, and have given con- 
secutively heavy crops, with the assistance of little or no manure ; 
while estates of a lighter soil, having lost nearly all the mould, and 
having no good subsoil, require to be regularly manured. In a word, 
a dark chocolate-coloured soil, mixed with small stones, under ledges 
of rock, and bestrewn with boulders, is the best, and the most favour- 
able elevation is 3000 feet. A level piece of virgin ground, not far 
from water, where the soil is rich and crumbly, is the most eligible 
for the construction of a nursery. First, the land must be thoroughly 
cleared, and all but the largest stumps of the forest trees rooted out ; 
the soil should be dug to the depth of nine or twelve inches, and be 
inade as friable as possible, then divided into beds with narrow paths 
between them ; the seed, in parchment (generally taken from the 
cistern after being pulped), should be put in, row by row, about 
six inches apart. A rope, the length of the beds, is used for this pur- 
pose, stretched from one end of the bed to tho other. The seed, if 
sown in suitable weather, soon makes its appearance above the surface ; 
so that a nursery made in May or June of one year has plants fit to 
put out at the same date in the following year. A slightly inclined 
piece of land is more desirable for a nursery, because the natural 
drainage would be better; and it is important that care should be 
taken to prevent damage by heavy rains. One bushel of parchment 
coffee is calculated to yield about 30,000 plants ; so that for a clear- 
ing of 100 acres four or five bushels of seed would be required. When 
the young trees in a nursery have attained a growth and age at which 
their being planted out as plants becomes rather a doubtful proceed- 
ing, with reference to the probability of their succeeding and taking 
root, it is better to make " stumps " of them ; this is done by pulling 
them up with as little injury as possible to the roots, and cutting 
them down to about six inches above the roots ; then to shorten the 
tap-root by a careful sloping out; next, to trim the other lateral 
roots, which are often needlessly extended. Filling-in is the opera- 
tion that follows holing. It has been ascertained by experience, that 
leaving the holes open for some time is very beneficial to the soil in a 
chemical point of view. Filling-in, like every other work on a coffee 
estate, should be carefully superintended. But of all operations in 



COFFEE. 



63 



the formation of a coffee plantation, the actual placing of the plants 
in thje holes is the one that requires the utmost care and attention. 
Early planting is, of course, desirable, because the trees have the 
benefit of the entire rainy season, and are sure to give a larger 
maiden crop. The usual course of transferring the plant is as 
follows : When pulled up, those with crooked roots should be picked 
out and thrown away, the roots should then be trimmed with a sharp 
knife, diminishing the length of the tap-root sufficiently to prevent 
the chance of its being bent or broken. The plant should not be put 
deeper into the earth than it was before it was pulled up ; it must 
then be pressed down with the hands or firmly trodden down. A 
coffee plantation, to be worked effectively, requires to be well 
"roaded" and drained. Drains, like roads and paths, should be 
cut as soon as the estate is commenced. 

The extension of coffee cultivation in the hill districts of Southern 
India has been very remarkable. It was commenced experimentally 
in the Wynaad in 1840, and in 1862 there were 9932 acres under 
cultivation in that district alone. In 1865 Wynaad coffee cultivation 
had increased to 200 estates, covering 14,613 acres. The exports in 
1860-61 amounted to 19,119,209 lbs., and coffee cultivation has since 
become a very important and increasing source of wealth. In 1873 
the total number of holdings was 6913, of which 195 belonged to 
Europeans, and 6718 to natives. The estimated produce of the 
Wynaad for 1873 was 83,500 cwts. 

In 1874-5 the extent of coffee cultivation in Wynaad had increased 
to 32,180 acres. The total value of the land under cultivation was 
965,430/., and the amount expended annually in coolies' wages alone 
was 182,500/. ; other expenses in connection with cultivation, carriage, 
and shipment of crops, amounted to 100,000Z. There were altogether 
117 European planters, 16 of whom were in North Wynaad, 74 in 
South Wynaad, and 27 in South-East Wynaad. 

In the mountainous province of Coorg the cultivation of coffee by 
European enterprise was commenced in 1854, and there are now 
73,306 acres under cultivation. 

On the Malabar coast some excellent coffee is grown, as well as in 
the hilly regions of Mysore and on the slopes of the Neilgherries. 
From these two latter places the finest growths of coffee are now 
being raised, more especially from Mysore, the prices obtained being 
considerably more than for Mocha. Very good specimens of coffee 
have also been produced in the interior of India, as in the district of 
Chota Nagpore, where the culture might apparently be greatly ex- 
tended, and be of great benefit for consumption locally. The planta- 
tions of Mysore number 23,871, and cover 111,139 acres ; of these, 
307 belong to Europeans, with 34,377,509 coffee plants on the 
estates, the rest (23,564) to natives ; these are small, the gardens 
ranging from about 3^ acres, but they have in all 87,779,620 trees. 

The quantity of coffee exported in the year 1873-4 was 2749 tons ; 
in the following year the quantity increased to 3316 tons. 

With 111,139 acres under coffee, it seems strange that the export 
from Mysore should be only 66,320 cwts., or a fraction over half 
a hundredweight per acre. Probably the home consumption of the 



64 



COFFEE. 



population of Mysore, wliich exceeds five millions, is large. The 
average yield must be very small. The aggregate number of coffye 
bushes on European and native estates is returned at over 118,000,000. 
Even if v^^e strike off one-third of the trees as too old or too young to 
be in bearing, there remain 88,000,000 trees, which, at the Ceylon 
average of half a pound per tree, ought to yield 400,000 cwts. of clean 
coffee. Perhaps the coffee bushes in Mysore, while yielding berries 
famous for their quality, give but few of them, say an average of a 
quarter of a pound of clean coffee per tree. 

The slopes of the hills that rise on the plateau of Mysore are 
thickly clothed with coffee plantations, and in the Munzerabad and 
Nugger districts coffee is even planted under the shade of forest trees, 
to obtain the requisite temperature ; so that there is hardly a spot of 
land fit for coffee culture that is left uncultivated. 

In the Nugger district of Mysore, the Bababooden hills present a 
bold and rugged appearance, towering upwards to a considerable 
height, and their crags, slopes, dells, woods, and waters impart a 
charming variety to the general feature of the country. Near the 
base of the hills, prettily situated in wooded ravines, are the coffee 
plantations. The plantations in the Munzerabad district offer a more 
pleasing appearance to the beholder than those of Nugger, as the 
country surrounding them is far more picturesque. 

The coffee estates in Coorg may be classified into three groups : the 
Mercara plateau, the Ghat and the Bamboo estates. Each group has 
its peculiar characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. The 
Mercara plateau has an average elevation of 3500 feet, and, in 
the higher planted portions, rising to upwards of 4000 feet, enjoys 
a bracing climate, being equally exposed to the sweeping mousoon 
rains and to the dry east winds. With an average rainfall of 
121 inches, extended over almost the whole year, the moisture is 
ample. The granitic soil consists generally of a red felspar clay, 
more or less mixed with gritty ferruginous stones, and covered with a 
layer of humus. 

The slope of the land being steep, it is evident that unless cultiva- 
tion is carried on with due precaution against the " waste " of the 
surface soil, by terracing, draining, or a judicious system of weeding, 
the trees will in a few years be deprived of the coolest and most 
nourishing portion of earth, and the land become sterile. Artificial 
shade is not required. Sheltered hill sides and gently sloping 
valley are here covered with the most luxuriant and productive 
trees. 

The Ghat estates extend over both sides of the Sumpaje valley, on 
the road to Mangalore, and on the Perambady Ghat beyond Verajapet, 
on the eastern and western declivities of the range of the western 
Ghats. This group of estates being originally covered with primeval 
forest, possessed a splendid soil for cultivation, its fertility being 
heightened by a heavier fall of rain, and by an invariable condition of 
atmospheric humidity. 

The extensive felling of forest, however, combined with a probably 
faulty system of cultivation, seems to have washed away the best por- 
tions of the soil of the steeper plantations, leaving the exposed roots 



COFFEE. 



55 



without nourishment, and during successive seasons of drought these 
fall an easy prey to the boring insect. 

The Bamboo district, which comprises the third group of estates, 
lies between the river Cavary and the Mercara trunk road to Veraja- 
pet, and thence to Attur Tittymutti. Its elevation varies from 3000 
to 3300 feet. Its annual rainfall amounts to about 65 inches. The 
nature of the land generally presents undulating slopes, and but few 
steep hills. The soil is of the richest kind, as the humus from an 
exuberant vegetation, which annually decays or is consumed by jungle 
fires, has accumulated for ages without being disturbed by heavy 
floods. The rainfall is gentle and seasonable, and the growth of 
coffee throughout the district most luxuriant and productive. On 
these estates artificial shade is deemed necessary ; the local varieties 
of the fig tree, with jack and toon, seem to answer best. Some of 
the oldest trees have given, it is said, fully a ton of coffee per acre. 
Fears are justly entertained that such an excessive production cannot 
last — that the trees must kill themselves by over-bearing. 

The coffee grown in the Madras Presidency is brought down the 
Ghats from the hill districts of Mysore, Coorg, Wynaad, and the Neil- 
gherries, to be exported from the Malabar ports. Some is also shipped 
in South Canara and at Tuticorin, as well as from a new port in Tra- 
vancore. The exports from the Madras Presidency do not show an 
increase, but much is consumed locally. 

The shipments have been as follows : 



Lbs. 

1871 31,295,195 

1872 52,047,318 

1873 39,781,819 



Lbs. 

1874 40,110,203 

1875 33,738,922 



The coffee fields in Travancore may be divided into the northern, 
middle, and southern districts. The northern includes the estates at 
and about Peremade ; the middle, those near and to the north of the 
Augustan Peak, and in the neighbourhood of Courtallum ; the 
southern, called also the Assamboo range, includes those between 
Assamboo in the south, and the Koday river in the north. In the 
latter districts there are coffee estates covering 10,000 acres, of which 
5500 acres are planted, and all this has been done since 1863. 

The number of coffee estates owned by Europeans in Travancore 
in 1870 was fifty, containing in the aggregate about 14,700 acres. 
This was independent of the estates and gardens owned by natives, 
both on the hills and plains. Since tjien a good many hundred acres 
of forest land have been planted with coffee ; but it is even yet in its 
incipient state of development. 

From the following statistics, it will be seen that within a quarter 
of a century the total exports of Indian coffee have increased from 
about 5^ million pounds to an average, in the four years ending 
1875, of 43,715,000 pounds. 



Lbs. 

1850 5,382,344 

1860 14,345,809 

1870 36,493,106 

1871 .. ., .. 33,816,746 



1872 56,817,153 

1873 42,099,320 

1874 41,019,409 

1875 34,925,063 



56 



COFFEE. 



Of the total quantity of Indian coffee shipped in 1875 (35,000,000 lbs ), 
about 33f million pounds went from Madras direct, and 1,184,000 
via Bombay. The United Kingdom is the largest customer, 19^ 
million pounds having gone there during the year. France took 
more than 13 millions, Turkey in Europe upwards of three-quarters 
of a million ; more than a million went to the Persian Gulf and Eed 
Sea, and nearly 350,000 lbs. to the Mediterranean ports. The 
balance was sent in smaller quantities to various other countries. 

The average annual exports of coffee from India since 1850 are 
shown below in periods of five years each : 



Year. 


Lbs. 


Value. 


1851-55 


7,813,602 


£ 

94,974 


1856-60 


8,274,183 


135,263 


1861-65 


24,162,260 


555,652 


1866-70 


33,879,096 


784,727 


1871-75 


41,405,214 


1,218,867 



As compared with the year 1874 (40,815,038 lbs., value 1,491,411/.), 
the exports in 1875 (34,925,063 lbs., value 1,305,335/.) fell off in 
quantity, though their relative value was larger. 

Arabia. — -Before leaving the Asiatic continent, we must say a few 
words in passing on the coffee production of Arabia. 

For ages before its use among the western nations, coffee was raised 
on the famous hills of Yemen, in Arabia, where Niebuhr states the 
tree was first cultivated after it was brought from Abyssinia by 
the Arabs. The coffee gardens there are on terraces, which reach an 
elevation of about 3000 feet. The soil is kept moist by means of 
small artificial canals, which are made to irrigate the whole by the 
water falling from the upj)er to the lower terraces. The trees are 
planted so close together that the thick foliage shelters their roots 
from the tropical heat of the sun. The fruit begins to ripen in 
February, but the most considerable harvest is in May. When the 
berries are dried and prepared, they are conveyed to the city of Beit 
al Fakih, when part goes to Mocha and the rest to European markets. 

Mr. Ellis, F.E.S., in his account of Coffee, published long ago, 
observed that the part of Arabia, from whence the Asiatic coffee is 
brought, is for the most part extremely sandy, di'y, and hot. At 
Batavia the soil is in general wet and deep ; and though, like other 
eastern climates, there is a dry season, yet in the rainy periods the 
quantity of wet that falls is excessive. The rich, luxuriant state 
of vegetation in the island of Java, on which Batavia is situated, is 
a proof of this assertion ; and one may safely infer, that a plant 
brought from a dry, sterile, sandy soil, will assume not only a very 
different appearance, but its fruit will have a very different quality 
from that which is the produce of a fertile, moist soil, subjected to 
equal heat. The drier the soil on which the coffee grows, the smaller 
is its fruit, and its quality more excellent. 

It is certain that in old coffee trees the fruit is smaller ; perhaps 



COFFEE. 



67 



an accurate taste would discover that its flavour is improved in 
proportion. 

From Mocha, Hodeida, and other parts of Arabia, there used to be 
exported, a quarter of a century ago, about 10,000 tons of coffee 
annually, but it is difficult to get at any precise figures as to the 
production now ; it certainly, however, is not one-half of this. 

The principal coffee districts are Hinjersia, Tarzia, Oudein, Anei- 
zah, Bazil, and Wusaf. The coffees of the Red Sea are mostly sent 
first to Bombay by Arab ships, and there garbled and forwarded to 
Europe. Mocha coffee, until lately, has been much esteemed ; the 
fine sorts continue to be so, but -the major part imported into this 
country is of a very mixed character, in many cases stones and husks 
forming a good portion of the bulk. Other growths, such as Mysore 
and fine East India, are rapidly superseding this kind, and unless the 
quality is much improved the demand in this country must die away ; 
as it is, the greater part is exported at prices actually below those of 
Plantation Ceylon and other colonial growths. The berry of the really 
choice qualities of Mocha, when roasted, has a flavour and fragrance 
which are unequalled by other growths. 

Africa and the African Islands. — The eastern and western coasts of 
Africa, including the islands of Mauritius, Eeunion, St. Helena, 
St. Thomas, and Prince's, produce coffee to the extent of about 
2,000,000 lbs. yearly. The island of St. Thomas is progressing in 
coffee production, the exports having increased sixfold between 1845 
and 1864, in which years they had reached 1,750,000 lbs. At Praia 
Eei, where the culture was commenced in 1854, the produce had 
reached 130,000 lbs. in 1862 and has gone on advancing. This 
property, which is one league and a half by three in extent, is divided 
into three estates, cultivated by about 300 labourers ; Monte Cafe, 
another estate commenced in 1854, by 50 labourers, in the course 
of eight years had nearly 500,000 trees planted. The seventh year 
the crop yielded 200,000 lbs., and since 1865 has produced about 
650,000 lbs. annually. Alta Douro, another estate, only commenced 
in 1857, had planted some 50,000 trees in a year or two, and is now 
a most productive property. The coffee of Liberia and Eio Nunez 
has a high reputation. 

Although attention was prominently drawn by me to the excellence 
of the Liberian coffee and its prolificness in the first edition of this 
work nearly a quarter of a century ago, it is only within the last few 
years that planters and commercial men have begun to duly appreciate 
its value and importance. 

Coffee is also grown in the Cape Yerde islands, Mozambique, 
Madagascar, Angola, the Gold Coast, Gabon, Ambriz, and Madeira. 
About the villages and settlements of the Sherbro river and Sierra 
Leone wild coffee trees are very abundant. 

There are many varieties of West African coffee from the large 
and symmetrical pale berries of St. Thomas to the little dark Bembe 
coffees. 

Bourbon or Reunion. — This island was taken possession of by the 
French in 1649. In 1715 wild coffee trees were found growing in 
the woods, and in 1718 Mocha coffee trees were introduced. 



58 



COFFEE. 



The former reputation of Bourbon coffee was European, and tlie 
island long owed its prosperity to coffee culture, but the hurricanes, 
decay of the trees used for shade, and the preference given by the 
planters of late years to sugar cultivatiou, has caused a great decline 
in the production of coffee. In 1817 the crop exceeded 7,250,000 lbs., 
but in 1860 only 530,000 lbs. were shipped, in 1865 less than 
470,000 lbs., and in 1875, 467,500 lbs., although in the previous year, 
1874, it was 719,400 lbs. The land under cultivation with coffee is 
only 5200 acres against 121,000 acres under cane, and there are 347 
coffee works or buildings. There are five species or varieties of 
the coffee shrub, known on the island, viz. : 

1. Mocha, passing as Bourbon (Coffea Arahica), the first intro- 
duced into the island and superior to all other kinds, easy to grow, 
but requiring shade trees for shelter. 

2. Leroy coffee (^Coffea laurina), the Sierra Leone species, a hardy 
kind, growing readily without shade, and having a seed pointed at 
one end. 

3. Myrtle coffee, a Mocha variety, especially remarkable for the 
longevity of the tree. 

4. Aden coffee (Goffea microcarjpa), with small regular berries, and 
a particular aroma, brought from Yemen by Admiral J ehuine ; it is 
the same as the Foucard coffee of Guadaloupe ; very little of this 
variety is, however, grown in the island. 

5. Bitter or wild coffee (Coffea Mauritiana), an indigenous species, 
common in the elevated forests of the island, with a pointed seed 
of a strange form, having a strong and bitter flavour, which in- 
toxicates in infusion, but mixed with other kinds is agreeable. 

Liberia. — Coffee is found in a dwarfish state growing wild in all 
parts of the republic of Liberia, on the west coast of Africa, and 
is believed to be a distinct species, which has lately been named 
Coffea Liberica, but used to pass as C. microcarpa. Some suppose 
it to be indigenous, others that it was introduced by the Portuguese 
a few centuries ago. The coffee now being cultivated in Liberia is 
from plants originally procured from the forest, but greatly improved 
by cultivation. It is grown both on light alluvial soil near the 
coast, and on gravelly soils in the interior. From present indi- 
cations in a few years the export of coffee from Liberia will be 
considerable, and its rich and superior flavour will secure for it 
a corresponding demand at remunerative prices. Coffee it has been 
proved can be cultivated with great ease, and to any extent, in this 
republic, from being indigenous to the soil and the tree being found 
there in abundance. A single tree at Monrovia, it is said, has yielded 
the enormous quantity of 16 lbs. at one gathering. It was estimated 
some years since that there were about 30,000 coffee trees in one 
of the counties, that of Grand Bassa, and the quality of the pro- 
duce was stated to be equal to the best Java. About the villages 
and settlements of the Sherbro river and Sierra Leone wild coffee 
trees are very abundant. A good many plants of Liberian coffee have 
been sent lately from Kew to Jamaica, Southern India, and Ceylon. 

This species is now considered to be of the highest commercial 
importance, being far more prolific than the old Coffea Arahica, of 



COFFEE. 



59 



much better flavour, and producing berries double the size of that 
species. Added to these advantages is another, which will commend 
it to all planters — its being more robust, less subject to disease, and 
hence can be cultivated where the ordinary coffee will not succeed. 

Those who know the plant best assert that it can be cultivated 
where the ordinary coffee will not succeed. If it has the hardy 
constitution that is claimed for it, coffee planters will soon be able 
to pursue their calling at elevations above the fever line. If this 
species of coffee tree answers all the expectations formed of it, we 
may expect something akin to a revolution on the estates, not only 
of Southern India, but of Ceylon also. The Dutch, who have always 
been most zealous and energetic in introducing and promoting the 
culture of new plants, are about to send out plants of the Liberian 
tree to their plantations in Java, and other parts of the Eastern 
Archipelago. 

Coffee is found growing in a wild state in the province of Bam- 
baye, the most eastern part of Fonta Djallon, between the Eio 
Nunez and the Rio Pongo. The island of Goree is the entrepot 
for this coffee. 

When British settlements and colonies are formed in Eastern 
Africa, the best coffee harvests there will be in what may be called 
the coffee belts from 5° to 15° north and south latitude. This would 
be in the south, that country which was so graphically described in 
Dr. Livingstone's letters sent home by Stanley, the base ports being 
Zanzibar and Mozambique ; and in the north, the old coffee-growing 
country of Abyssinia, and the equatorial Nile basin out of Egyptian 
territory. Both Dr. Livingstone and Sir Samuel Baker describe these 
countries as those of a terrestrial paradise, the latter speaking of 
boundless tracts, situated at a mean altitude of 3000 to 4000 feet 
above the sea-level, with a fertile soil, healthy climate, regular rainy 
season, and a docile population, eminently adapted for coffee cul- 
tivation. 

Cultivation in Natal. — Looking at the number of localities on the 
African continent where coffee is indigenous, there is no reason why, 
under proper cultivation and judicious management, coffee should not 
succeed well at Natal. It has been grown there on a small scale, 
but from want of proper attention and management, and neglect of 
weeding, or from exhaustion of the soil, the trees have been attacked 
with fungi, and the crop has latterly failed. In 1870, 2700 cwts. were 
shipped, in 1874 only 680 cwts. 

The samples of Natal coffee, however, shown at the various Inter- 
national Exhibitions at London, Dublin, and Paris, were of good 
quality, and in view of the demand for coffee outstripping the supply, 
the more widely the culture can be extended, especially in our own 
colonies, the better. 

The following directions for Natal are from an old and experienced 
coffee planter : 

In eighteen months after being transplanted from the nursery into 
the field, the coffee trees should begin to bear fruit, and will go on, 
gradually increasing in quantity, until the seventh or eighth year, 
when they may be considered to have arrived at their full bearing, 



60 



COFFEE. 



although this is not always the case, many trees increasing until their 
twelfth year. 

When the young plants are about to be removed from the nursery 
to the field, it is by many planters considered beneficial to trim their 
roots, and cut off the tap-root ; and I have myself frequently followed 
this practice, although I am now inclined to think that the benefits 
supposed to result are very much to be doubted. 

It is very certain that, under any circumstances, great caution 
should be exercised, and every attention paid to the time of year, 
quality of soil, and particular season prevailing. 

When the young trees have attained a certain height — generally 
from four to five feet — the West Indian custom is to " top " them, for 
the purpose of stopping their upward growth, and to cause the trees 
to expand, by throwing out lateral branches. 

This plan is admirably adapted to the peculiarities of certain 
elevated localities, such as the higher ranges of the Blue Mountains 
in Jamaica ; but I am fully convinced that, under different circum- 
stances, and in lower regions, the practice would be anything but 
beneficial or proper. Careful observation and considerable judgment 
are required, even by practical and experienced men, to determine the 
extent to which this process may be carried ; and I am sure that 
much injury, and consequent loss, is occasioned by an indiscriminate 
adherence to this custom. 

The variation in the practice may be appropriately evidenced in 
the two systems which I should recommend for adoption in Natal, viz. 
the Berea and coast lands generally, and the higher lands ranging 
from Field's Hill upwards. In the former I should not think of 
topping, or cutting back, my coffee trees, until they had attained a 
height of from six to eight feet, when they would speedily become 
large and spreading trees, capable, under judicious management, of 
bearing a very considerable quantity of really good coffee. In the 
latter (viz. the higher lands) I should almost invariably keep the 
trees at about five feet high and no taller. 

The difference in produce I should calculate somewhat as follows : 
Average of full-bearing trees, in the Berea and coast lands, say 
20 lbs. per tree, of good mixed quality coffee ; and in the higher 
lands, say 10 lbs. per tree, of superior quality coffee, both cui-ed and 
ready for market. 

I feel assured that time and carefully conducted experiments will 
serve to verify these opinions ; but I am no less certain that, until 
local experience has proved me to be correct, there will be many 
persons who will totally disagree with my views on this point. 

Twenty acres of land, cultivated in the manner I suggest, would in 
a short time form a very valuable little property ; and when the trees 
come into full bearing, a large income might be derived from it, as it 
should then yield 140,000 lbs. of cured coffee, worth 6d. per lb. — 
3500Z. per annum. This is a large sum, and the system is one so 
entirely different to that pursued in the West Indies, Ceylon, and 
other coffee-producing countries, that the most contemptuous incre- 
dulity will, I am sure, be exhibited by many experienced and highly 
esteemed planters, when they first read the principles I am now endea- 



COFFEE. 



61 



vouring to inculcate. Let anyone, or everyone, however, doubt my 
assertions to any extent he or they may please ; but let the system be 
fairly tried and I shall have no fear of the result. 

To obtain the large returns from each tree, as above estimated, the 
following rules should be carefully attended to in every particular : 

1. Choose a good and fertile soil, containing a tolerable quantity 
of decayed vegetable matter, and having a generous subsoil, which is 
naturally well drained. Moreover, be careful that this patch of land 
enjoys the advantage of the morning's sun. 

2. Pick out strong and vigorous young coffee plants, which take 
up, if possible, without breaking their roots, and with the earth around 
them ; but if this cannot be done, then put the young plants into water, 
immediately they are taken up from the nursery, and keep their roots 
immersed until they are planted out in the field. Allow 700 plants to 
the acre. 

3. Let the ground be in a tolerably moist condition, and see that 
the weather is moderately rainy. 

4. Prepare holes (varying from 12 to 24 inches in diameter) with 
well-rotted vegetable manure, and finely pulverized earth, into which 
place the young plants carefully, and fill up the holes, so as to leave 
no hollows wherein water may lodge. 

5. Be sure that these young plants are fully shaded, yet enjoy light 
and fresh air in abundance. As a shade, plantain, banana, or cocoa- 
nut trees answer admirably, and at the same time their produce is 
very profitable. 

6. During the early stages of their growth the young trees should 
never be choked by weeds, but should be well attended to, and (when- 
ever appearing) any dead wood must be removed by hand. 

7. All suckers and undesirable shoots ought to be destroyed imme- 
diately they appear ; and when the trees have arrived at a sufficient 
height their tops should be pinched off to stay their further growth 
upward. 

8. Each tree must at all stages of its growth be kept open, so as to 
ensure plenty of air and light penetrating throughout every part of it, 
and consequently no matting of the branches can be permitted, nor 
the growth of moss on the trunk, or on any of the branches. 

9. The trees should be carefully pruned whenever they require it, 
so as to keep them open, and to preserve that portion of the wood only 
which will bear fruit abundantly, and of good quality. 

10. Dig in manure around the roots of the tree, not close to the 
trunk, but in a circle as wide as the branches extend, that the roots, 
as they grow, may find a store of nutriment. The rule must be — 
manure well, but alv/ays dig that manure in about the roots of the 
plant. 

11. The choice of manure must become a study, in order to give 
those kinds only which will exercise a particular effect on the tree. 
Highly stimulating manure is sure to occasion the growth of a quan- 
tity of useless young wood and numerous cross suckers, which are 
often denominated gormandizers, and these are both very injurious to 
the tree. Only that kind of manure is desirable which will supply 
the requisite material for the formation of vigorous and healthy young 



62 



COFFEE. 



wood, that will produce an abundant crop of sound berries. All 
portions of the plant itself and its fruit form a manure which cannot 
be equalled ; but as these are rarely to be had in sufficient abundance, 
green grass, weeds, and other vegetable matter, dug in around the 
roots, act very beneficially on the plant. Cattle-pen and stable 
manure may be used with discretion ; but bone manure (such as burnt 
and ground bones, either alone or decomposed by the action of sul- 
phuric acid) constitutes one of the choicest manures that can be applied 
to the coffee tree. 

12. Irrigate in the dry season wherever it can be done, and the 
increased value of the crop will prove its great utility. It very 
frequently happens that a long spell of dry weather follows the general 
blossoming of the trees ; and they are so parched from lack of moisture 
in the soil, that the young fruit is destroyed in setting, and the ground 
is found to be thickly strewed with the young sets when no larger 
than very small peas. In this manner the hopes of a whole crop may 
be entirely dissipated. 

Production in the West India Islands. — The rapid decline in coffee 
production — I may almost say its abandonment — in the British 
West Indies, since negro emancipation, is remarkable. In 1828 we 
received from our West India colonies and Demerara 30,000,000 lbs. 
of coffee ; in 1831, 20,000,000 lbs.; in 1811, less than 10,000,000 lbs.; 
and now under 7,000,000 lbs. reach us. 

Coffee was first cultivated by the Dutch, in Surinam, early in the 
eighteenth century. It was next grown by the Freuch in Martinique, 
and thence spread to the neighbouring islands, and to Jamaica. The 
Dutch jealously guarded their early efforts in this direction, and were 
not anxious to aid other nations in competing with them. There is a 
little fragrance of romance connected with the first French eftbrt of 
this kind which was made in Martiniqufe. Louis XIV. who, in spite 
of all his foibles and vices, was fully able to appreciate the importance 
of such apparently small matters as a potato tuber or a coffee bean, 
had in his private gardens a coffee shrub five feet high, which, before 
his death (1715), bore ripe fruit. Having heard of Dutch coffee 
plantations in Berbice and Surinam, his ambition was aroused, and he 
desired to have similar ones in his French West Indian colonies. 
He entrusted, therefore, a slip from his pet tree to a naval officer, 
Declieux, with orders to carry it safely to Martinique. Unfortunately 
the ship in which he served had an unusually long voyage — fierce 
storms alternating with provoking calms, and at last the water casks 
were empty. The captain, however, sacrificed his own wants for the 
sake of the young plant, and shared with it his scanty ration of water. 
But his troubles were not at an end when he at last reached the 
island ; storms and tempests, men and beasts, seem to have united to 
threaten the tender shoot, and Declieux had to place a guard over the 
plant, who, under his supervision, watched it day and night. Fortu- 
nately it grew and throve till it became a fine large tree, the ancestor 
of most of the coffee plantations in the West India islands. It may 
be safely said that never was tree more carefully tended or more 
usefully employed. 



COFFEE. 



63 



Althougli by the extent of its present production scarcely meriting 
priority of notice, I will give Martinique precedence in my retro- 
spective survey. 

Martinique. — The annual produce of an hectare of land (21^ acres) 
under coffee in Martinique is from 500 to 1000 lbs. Owing to the 
attacks of the coffee insect [Elachysta Coffeola) impoverishment of the 
soil, hurricanes, atmospheric influences, and other causes, the pro- 
duction of coffee is declining here. In 1873 there were about 1270 
acres under coffee, and new plantations have since been established. 
There is a large island consumption, and hence the quantity shipped 
is but trifling. The following shows the crops of late years in kilo- 
grammes of a little over 2 lbs. : 



Kilos. 

1868 254,553 

1869 145,575 



Kilos. 

1870 169,480 

1873 210,000 



The shipments to France direct from Martinique vary considerably 
and are but small in any year. 

Another French colony, Guadaloupe, was much indebted for its 
ancient prosperity to coffee ; in 1790 it exported about 7,500,000 lbs., 
in 1856, 6,943,239 lbs. Of late years the war, hurricanes, and the 
attacks of the coffee insect, contributed greatly to diminish the pro- 
duction. The shipments in 1861 were 655,290 lbs., and in 1874, 
625,200 lbs. Nearly all produced here is sold in France as Marti- 
nique coffee. There were in 1873 3588 hectares under cultivation 
with coffee, the average produce being about 1000 lbs. per hectare. 

Jamaica is admirably suited for coffee culture from its elevated 
mountain ranges, and the island used to produce large crops of a 
very fine quality. The culture was introduced in 1728 ; in 1752, 
60,000 lbs. were exported, and the average annual shipment in the 
three years ending 1807 was 28,500^000 lbs. In 1844 there were 
671 coffee plantations in the island, and it was estimated that 
20,000,000/. was invested in coffee estates. But the culture was 
almost entirely abandoned, the coffee planters of the East having long 
quite outstripped those of the West Indies by the advantages of 
capital, labour, and suitable land, with facilities for shipment. 
Jamaica, among the British islands, is now paying increased atten- 
tion to the growth of coffee, though the distance from ports of 
shipment is often greater than it is in the smaller islands. 

There were 20,131 acres under coffee cultivation in Jamaica in 
1874. The principal parishes in which coffee is grown are St, 
Andrew's, St. Catherine's, Manchester, Clarendon, and St. Ann's. 

The following have been the exports for a series of years : 



Lbs. 

1859 5,055,089 

1860 6,176,589 

1861 6,715,581 

1862 5,467,802 

1863 8,184,869 

1864 4,141,903 

■1865 6,229,712 

1866 8,513,532 



Lbs. 

1867 6,264,861 

1868 7,855,488 

1869 5,501,887 

1870 9,671,564 

1871 5,611,245 

1872 9,510,739 

1873 7,199,144 

1874 10,351,570 



64 



COFFEE. 



Hayii, which, owed its former prosperity to coffee, has not yet again 
attained to the quantity it used to produce when a French colony. 
In 1789 the coffee crop there was 80,000,000 lbs. The trees were 
almost entirely destroyed in subsequent years. In 1826 the pro- 
duction had, however, recovered to 32,000,000 lbs. ; in 1860 it had 
advanced to 50,000,000 lbs., and in 1863 to 68,140,752 lbs. ; but there 
appears to be now a retrogression, for the shipments in the year 
ending September, 1874, were only 54,513,000 lbs. 

Cuba was at one time a large coffee-producing island, for in 1847 
there were 2064 plantations under culture with this crop. From 1830 
to 1840, the annual production was about 2,000,000 arrobas of 25 lbs. 
From the year 1841 to 1846, the average yearly production was 
45,236,100 lbs. In 1851, owing to the fall in price of coffee, and the 
more remunerative character of sugar and tobacco production, the crop 
had declined to 13,000,000 lbs. ; in 1864 the export of coffee fell far 
below this, and now Cuba imports large supplies of coffee from Porto 
Eico. 

In Porto JRico the coffee crop now averages about 230,000 cwts. 
In 1839 the shipments were only 85,384 cwts.; in 1861, 129,000 cwts.; 
and in 1873, 270,895 cwts. 

The cultivation of coffee has increased of late years, and might be 
much extended on land now almost unproductive, on the hills and 
valleys of the table-lands. The coffee of Porto Rico is of excellent 
quality; though not well known in the English markets, it is much 
appreciated in Spain and Italy, and even now exported to the value 
of 900,000Z. A considerable quantity is grown in the province of 
Ponce, but it is also raised in the provinces of Mayaguez, Arecibo, 
and Aguadilla. 

St. Lucia, Dominica, and St. Vincent should be great coffee pro- 
ducers on their mountain slopes, and Nevis and St. Kitts on a lesser 
scale. St. Lucia used to have 500 acres under culture with coffee, and 
in 1840 exported 324,000 lbs. In 1829 Grenada shipped 64,654 lbs. 
In 1796 there were 130 coffee plantations in Trinidad, and the ^pro- 
duce there, in 1803, was 358,660 lbs. The export from Trinidad has 
averaged 24,000 lbs. in each of the four years ending 1875, but it is 
not likely to attain to the former proportions grown, even with the 
increased care and attention given to the culture, for the South 
American competition is too strong. 

At the close of the last century Dominica produced more than 
2,000,000 lbs. of coffee annually ; even in 1833 the shipments 
were 1,612,528 lbs., and in 1835 over 1,000,000 lbs,, but the 
general effect of the negro emancipation was the entire abandon- 
ment of coffee cultivation by the owners under whose care and energy 
they had hitherto been such brilliant mines of wealth. The estates 
were appropriated, subdivided, and allotted among the peasantry, 
who took up the production of sugar, cacao, cassava, and other 
cultures. 

Production in America. — Having passed under review the several 
West Indian islands, I come now to speak of Central and Southern 
America, which are extensive and increasing fields of coffee pro- 



COFFEE. 



65 



duction. The direct imports into the United Kingdom from the 
States there in the last four years have been as follows, in cwts. : 



Year. 


Central America. 


New Granada. 


Venezuela. 


Brazil. 


1872 

1873 

1874 


133,290 
197,720 
151,538 
210,979 


27,063 
16,866 
21,724 
14,646 


10 ,'685 
7,863 
2,162 


159,194 
143,749 
200,125 
222,375 



From British Honduras we have received in the past four years 
increasing supplies of coffee, but whether this is all grown there, 
or partly Guatemala produce shipped from thence, I am unable to 
state, as I have no information about coffee culture in that colony. 
The direct imports from Honduras have been : 



Cwts. 

1872 2,635 

1873 1,626 



Cwts. 

1874 3,975 

1875 4,777 



Costa Mica. — This republic has risen by the culture of coffee to a 
degree of prosperity unknown by the other Central American States. ..^ ; 

The introduction of the plant in the vast plain of San Jose, which it (Xy»\^'"^''' 
now covers, only dates back some thirty years. The principal a ^mAM 

plantations iDclong to the families of MeetdFeargre and M^a. --^---■'^■^ -Q^^J^ 

About 1845, the distinguished Senor Mora, then President of the / 
Eepublic of Costa Eica, prohibited the raising of plantains for sani- 
tary and other reasons, and caused a governmental decree to be 
passed encouraging the culture of coffee. "With lingering steps 
and slow " the hill-sides about Cartage and San Jose were cleared and 
planted with coffee slips, and to-day a thousand coffee planters are 
enjoying a competency from the net income of the estates thus com- 
pulsorily established. The export of coffee for this year (1876) at 
Punta Arenas, on the Pacific, I am assured, will fall little short 
of 18,000,000 lbs. 

The coffee plant is a native of this continent, and an impression 
which some have that it is inferior to the eastern, as, for example, 
the Java and far-famed Mocha, is erroneous. On the contrary, the 
coffee raised on the highlands of Nicaragua and Costa Eica is unsur- 
passed for strength and a delicate aromatic flavour, unknown to the 
best coffee of the East ; and the fruit of the lowlands and medium 
elevations is far from inferior. I have seen specimens of coffee 
from the haciendas of Padre Vejil and Don Pampilio Lacayo, grown 
upon the plains in the neighbourhood of Granada. Although not 
having the plump form or peculiar bluish tinge which are the 
characteristics of the excellent coffee of the highlands, it compares 
favourably with the coffee of Java or the Moluccas. The cultivation 
of coffee will undoubtedly here engage the attention of many of the 
first colonists. It is worth noting that in opposite quarters of the 
globe, Costa Eica and South India lie in the same position of north 
latitude, and that their respective growths approach one another in 



66 



COFFEE. 



fine quality. This line also cuts directly through the Abyssinian 
coffee districts which of old supplied Persia. 

The quality of Costa Eica coffee is considered excellent, and it is 
principally shipped to Great Britain ; the following figures show the 
exports at decennial periods : 

Cwts. Cwts. 

1845 70,000 1865 99,720 

1855 .. ... .. 70,709 1875 210,000 



The coffee crop of 1874, compared with that of the previous year, 
was small, the quantity shipped amounting to about 200,000 cwts., or 
a decrease of 2400 tons on the previous year's export : it was, however, 
slightly above the average export for the previous five years. Coffee 
is and must be the principal and almost only staple product of Costa 
Kica, until a railroad enables it to compete with other countries in 
sugar, cocoa, &c. The scarcity of labour is one great drawback, for 
in many parts crops spoil on the trees for want of hands to gather 
them. 

Guatemala. — Some thirty years ago considerable plantations of coffee 
were made in different parts of this State, but the culture was abandoned 
owing to the disturbances among the Indians ; of late years, however, 
it has been resumed, and is making good progress. The greater part 
of the plantations are situated in the neighbourhood of Coban. Coffee 
will be in future the principal article of export, and to an extent and 
importance scarcely yet to be' calculated. In 1860 only 63 tons were 
shipped; in 1863 this had increased to 799 tons; in 1867, to 2000 
tons. 

In Nicaragua coffee is grown in the Yalle Menier, the plantation of 
the great Parisian chocolate firm ; but very little is as yet exported 
from this State, some 400 or 500 lbs. only being shipped from Grey- 
town. 

In the state of San Salvador a fair quality of coffee is grown ; the 
exports in 1865 were to the value of 21,500Z., and that of the coffee 
shipped from San Salvador in 1873 was about 215,000Z. 

In the state of Colombia, formerly New Granada, the coffee grown 
is of excellent quality, especially at Ocama and Ambalima, but the 
quantity produced is limited, and is chiefly sold for consumption in 
the country. Our direct imports into Great Britain from New Granada 
have averaged 20,000 cwts. in the four years ending 1875. 

In Ecuador attention has of late years been given to the culture, and 
a very superior quality of coffee is produced. In 1855 only 776 cwts. 
were shipped, but now eight times this quantity is exported. The 
crop of coffee in 1874 was 10,652 cwts. The shipments via Guaya- 
quil were in : 

Cwts. Cwts, 

1861 1,480 1871 4,082 

1865 1,810 1873 6,652 



Only a little over 1,000,000 lbs. were shipped in 1874. 

British Guiana. — In 1752 the cultivation of coffee was commenced 
in Demerara, and one bag was exported ; in 1761, 45 tierces of coffee 



COFFEE. 



67 



were shipped, find in 1764, 211 bags. The following were the exports 
in some later years : 1773, 1001 tierces ; 1775, 2317 tierces. In 1796 
the colony was taken possession of by the British, and in 1803, 
9,954,610 lbs. of colfee were shipped ; in 1823, the exports of coffee 
were 8,008,729 lbs. After this the cnlture began to fall off; com- 
paring 1829 with 1839, there was a deficiency in the latter year of 
2,139,430 lbs. of coffee. The gradual decline in production is shown 
by the following figures giving the exports : 

l.bs. 

1830 9,472,756 

1840 3,357,300 

1849 100,550 

In Frencli Guiana coffee was at one time an important staple, the 
species grown being the Mocha variety, for the cultivation of which 
the country is especially adapted ; it is now chiefly grown as a shade 
tree to cocoa, annatto, and other crops, but a few Government planta- 
tions are maintained. The average production, as shown below, is 
scarcely 100,000 lbs. a year : the shipments in 1874 were only 2028 lbs., 
and in 1875 but 752 lbs. This valuable product, the British consul at 
Cayenne tells us, is not, however, quite lost ; although temporarily 
abandoned, the trees continue to thrive in a wild state, and may be 
reclaimed hereafter. They attain a height of about fifteen or six- 
teen feet, with a circumference a few feet from the ground of thirty 
inches ; they are rich in foliage, but do not flower ; the coffee tree 
here also appears to be safe from the ravages of insects, whereas many 
other trees suffer vitally from this evil. 





Kilogs. 




Kilogs. 


1861 


50,000 


1869 ,. 


.. .. 135,614 


1865 .. 


, . 64,436 


1870 


, 60,079 


1866 ,, 


73,27 


1871 ,, 


, . , . 57,433 


1867 ,, 


,, .. 107,424 






1868 ,. 


60,463 


1874 


.. 40,028 



In Surinam the produce is only about 500,000 lbs. 

In Bolivia coffee is grown in the whole extent of the Yungas, and 
of forms and varieties not generally known ; it is best when raised on 
the flanks of the mountains. In the plains the berry increases in 
size, but loses flavour ; when grown on higher elevations it decreases 
in size, but improves in quality. The Yungas coffee is so highly 
esteemed that it is considered equal, if not superior, to Mocha. 

Peru. — Coffee grows with extraordinary luxuriance in the mountain 
regions of Peru ; the activity of its vegetation is wonderful, the branches 
are borne down indeed with the weight of the numerous berries. 

Venezuela. — The best coffee grows in the cooler portion of the 
State, and the crop is gathered in October. The production is about 
600,000 cwts. annually. 

With respect to what may be considered as the yearly yield of 
coffee per tree in Venezuela, as compared with Brazil and Ceylon, its 
principal rivals in the staple, up to 1858, it was generally considered 
that the average might be put down at half a pound per tree ; but 

F 2 



68 



COFFEE. 



since tliat period such has been the neglect of the plantations through- 
out the country, owing in the first j)lace to the uninterrupted five 
years' war of the Federation up to the close of the crop of 1853, and 
to the subsequent state of anarchy and confusion prevailing, the 
scarcity of capital and labour, and the want of personal supervision 
upon the part of landed proprietors, that the yield may be said to 
have diminished by one-half, and thus the general average does not 
exceed a quarter of a pound per tree. It may be remarked, also, that 
the coffee plant, though prolific, is most delicate and susceptible, 
requiring constant attention and careful cultivation, such as circum- 
stances do not admit of its having bestowed on it in this country. 

An intelligent American gentleman, many years resident in Brazil, 
and well acquainted with coffee cultivation in the province of Eio 
Janeiro, who visited Caracas in 1869, informed the coffee growers 
that the general average annual yield of coffee for the past twenty 
years in Brazil had been 4 lbs. per tree, and upon the most carefully 
cultivated plantations as high as 30 lbs. per tree, whilst upon smaller 
estates of 200 to 300 acres, with 500 trees per acre, a regular yield of 
10 lbs. was obtained. The coffee trees in Brazil are not shaded as 
they are in Venezuela, which ensures a larger yield, although lessening 
the duration of producing power, generally estimated at about fifteen 
years. Improved and more scientific culture would certainly give 
2 lbs. per tree as the average in Venezuela, many isolated instances 
existing of that amount, and even of over 4 lbs. per tree having been 
obtained. 

Production in Brazil. — Coffee having been introduced into the 
French settlement of Cayenne, by La Motte Aigron, the governor, 
in 1722, a Brazilian subject, Palhetta, while on a voyage to that colony, 
managed, not without much difiiculty, to bring to the city of Belem 
(Para) a few of the seeds of this valuable plant; in that province 
coffee trees were multiplied through the care of Agostinho Domingos, 
and others. A deserter, it is said, introduced the plant from Para 
into Maranham about 1770. The judge, Joas Gualberto Castello 
Banco, appointed chancellor to the high court of the Eelacas at Rio 
Janeiro, took with him with great care two small coffee trees during 
the vice-royalty of the Marquis de Lavradio, in the middle of the 
eighteenth century, when sugar and cereals constituted the great 
fountains of the wealth of the province of Eio Janeii'o. The two 
plants were by order of that notable statesman cultivated in a private 
garden in the neighbourhood of the convent of Adjuda, and in this 
manner those two small and humble trees in the course of one 
century become the first and most important branch of the public 
wealth. 

Mr. Moke, a Belgian, is said to have been the first planter to carry 
on the systematic cultivation of coffee near the city of Eio, and 
enormous profits have resulted from the energetic efforts thus made. 

The coffee tree having rapidly multiplied, extended itself then over 
dozens of miles, and was transplanted to Minas Geraes, San Paulo, 
Bahia, Ceara, &c. 

Coffee is now the most important agricultural product of Brazil, 
and forms the principal staple of its foreign commerce. It con- 



COFFEE. 



69 



stitutes nearly half of all the supply of coffee to the world. The 
culture extends from the Amazon to the province of San Paulo, and 
from the coast to the western limits of the empire, a surface exceeding 
653,400 square kilometres (of nearly 5 furlongs each). There are 
about 530,000,000 coffee trees, which cover an area of 1,4:00,000 
acres. The principal producing provinces are Rio Janeiro, San Paulo, 
Bahia, Ceara, and Minas Geraes. The shipping ports are Rio, Santos, 
Bahia, and Ceara, the port of Rio exporting about ten-twelfths of all 
that is shipped. 

The culture in the province of Ceara is rather of recent date, but it 
is now carried on on a large scale in the mountains of Maranguape, 
Aratana, Batunte, Araripe, Machada, and Uraburotama. The plan- 
tations having been attacked by insects, the production diminished 
after 1863, but has again recovered. 

The productive power of the empire has almost doubled in the last 
ten years. In 1864, 264,000,000 lbs. of coffee were shipped, and in 
1873, 462,000,000 lbs. ; the value of the coffee shipped in 1871 was 
nearly 8,500,000Z. ; the local consumption is calculated to be one- 
fifth of the total product. 

The production in Brazil in 1820 was only about 14,000,000 lbs. ; 
in 1822, 150,000 bags were shipped, but the scarcity of coffee at that 
period, and the falling off of production in Cuba, stimulated the 
Brazilian planters so greatly that in 1830 the export from Rio alone 
had increased to over 64,000,000 lbs. ; in 1847 to 299,640,000 lbs., in 
1860 to 341,000,000 lbs., representing 2,126,719 bags, weighing about 
160 lbs. each, and in 1872 to 3,349,284 bags. 

Of the varieties of the coffee tree, no less than sixteen species are 
indigenous to Brazil, an evidence of the suitability of the soil and 
climate for the culture, while Peru, Guiana, Mexico, New Granada, and 
other parts of the continent, have also indigenous species of the tree. 

The coffee plant grows in most parts of Brazil, as the medium 
temperature which it requires is found throughout nearly all the 
empire. It prospers even in places exposed to the cold, and appears 
to vegetate with more vigour, but the fruit is not so abundant, nor 
has it the precocity and regularity necessary to render the crop pro- 
fitable. As the flowering and fructification take place at two periods, 
the end of September and October, two gatherings are necessary. 

Attempts have been made, but without any resulting benefit, to 
acclimatise some of the esteemed varieties from other countries. The 
Government introduced Bourbon plants in 1857, and Java, Mocha, 
and other species tried have soon degenerated and assimilated to the 
ordinary Brazilian. The same occurred in Martinique when the 
Mocha coffee was introduced in 1818, for in a few years the berry was 
found not to differ from that ordinarily cultivated in the island. 

When a plantation has to be made, the sunny slope of a hill is 
selected, the site of which is not too retentive of the water falling on 
it. This, after being cleared and burnt off in the usual manner of 
treating timber lands, is planted over in rows, with year-old plants, 
previously reared in a nursery. These receive little further care 
than to keep the weeds down, and to have the up ward growth checked 
by pruning, so as to facilitate the gathering of the crop. In four or 



70 



COFFEE. 



five years tlio trees are productive, and will in general continue so for 
upwards of twenty years. Its thick clusters of white flowers burst forth 
in abundance at certain seasons, but the dark green foliage is rarely 
seen unrelieved by them and by the fruit in all stages of maturity. 

The pulp of the cherry that surrounds the bean is sweet and agree- 
able to the taste, and, like the leaves, partakes of the flavour of the berry. 

From its strong flavour Brazilian coffee is improved by age, perhaps 
to a greater degree than any other coffee, and it is said, if kept for ten 
or twelve years, would fully equal the best Mocha. 

As the flowering and fruiting take place at two periods of the year 
there are, of necessity, two harvests. It is essentially necessary that, 
during the drying, the berry does not come in contact with the earth, 
which would much injure its quality, hence in large plantations paved 
terraces are formed, or of some other materials. On smaller estates the 
coffee is dried on bamboo frames or some other substitute. As the 
paved or stuccoed drying terraces are expensive, it is better, when 
possible, to employ pulping machines, although these require a fall of 
water to work them. When the coffee is dry it has to be deprived 
of its pulp and parchment. The machines employed for this purpose 
have not much effect on the produce. It is simply a question of time 
and trouble, more economical than industrial. In fact, nothing can 
be imagined more simple and primitive than the appliances used in 
some of the countries which furnish the coffee most esteemed in the 
European markets. 

The berries of the ovoid form of the Mocha found in the markets 
are derived from the older Brazilian coffee trees, and from the higher 
branches of the young trees which are more exposed to the solar rays ; 
these are separated by bolters. In Brazil coffee trees are reckoned to 
yield, from theii* fifth to their twentieth year, an average of an arroba, 
or 32 lbs. of clean coffee to each ten trees. From six to twelve years 
the produce is commonly two and sometimes three arrobas to ten trees, 
but from the sixteenth to the twentieth year the crops are irregular, 
and below this average. The common yield of clean coffee is about one 
arroba to three alqueires or bushels of the fresh fruit. An arroba of 
clean coffee is obtained from one and a third arroba of dry coffee in the 
hull, deprived of its pulp, but not of the parchment-like envelope. 
Whilst the cost of clearing, planting, and bringing into bearing an 
estate of 150 acres, with only 333 trees to the acre, is far more than 
that of a similar plantation in Ceylon, the returns are much larger per 
tree, averaging nearly 10 cwts. to the acre, and the trees bear much 
longer. 

A recent traveller, publishing an account in Belgium of his impres- 
sions during a tour through Brazil, thus speaks of coffee cultivation : 
" A hectare (2 acres) of land will contain 913 trees, which on inferior 
land will produce 674. kilogrammes (2^ lbs.) of coffee ; in soils of the 
second class, 1384 kilos., and in those of a superior kind 2022 kilos. 
An active labourer, working steadily, can keep in order two hectares 
of coffee trees ; the annual result from this would be, 1145f. 80 in 
the first case ; 2352f. 80 in the second ; and 3437f. 40 in the third, 
reckoning the produce at the low price of 85 cent^the half kilo, or 



COFFEE. 



71 



pound. In a medium hazienda, or plantation, the average return of 
coffee is about 1074f. per labourer, women, children, and old men 
included." 

The quality has been so much improved in the last ten years that 
much of the coffee is sent to Europe and sold under the names of Java, 
Ceylon, Martinique, San Domingo, and even Mocha. At the Paris 
Intercolonial Exhibition of 1867, Brazilian coffee received from the 
jurors a gold medal over all other coffees. 

Between 1816 and 1820 the planters of Eio abandoned the culture 
of the sugar-cane, and turned their attention to coffee, the cultivation 
of which thereafter became the basis of such immense progress, and 
the accumulation of wealth in the capital of the empire. Although 
the province of Eio is still the chief producing district, it may be 
interesting to mark the progress of production in the other provinces, 
which is fairly indicated by the shipments from the several ports ; 
thus, from Bahia, the exports to foreign markets have increased as 
follows : 



Arrobas of 
32 lbs. 

1810 3,893 

1830 45,882 

1840 52,365 

1860 198,604 



Arrobas of 
32 lbs, 

1865 330,063 

1870 12,853,117 

1874 8,483,124 



. The greater part of the Caravillas coffee from this province is sent 
to Eio Janeiro in consequence of the easy transit during the summer 
months, when the prevailing winds from the north-east enable the 
planters to get quick returns for their produce from that important 
coffee mart. 

Passing now to Santos I may state that the exports were in the 
years — 

Cwts. 

1869 487,893 

1870 400,464 

1871 460,695 

Campinas is the coffee capital of this province, and the quantity 
carried over the San Paulo line was in 1870, 29,720 tons, and in 
1871, 41,107 tons. 

The culture of coffee is comparatively recent in the province of 
Ceara, but it is being carried out on a large scale in the mountains of 
Maranguape, Aratana, Baturite, Araripe, Machado, and Uraburotama. 
Although the plantations were attacked by the insect, and the produc- 
tion diminished after 1863, it still forms the second article of export 
of the province. In 1866, 103,330 arrobas were shipped from there, 
and in 1874, 94,800 arrobas. Agricultural production is, however, 
just now stationary in Brazil, and likely to recede, owing to the want 
of labour. Coffee and the cane represent 1 0,000, 000?. sterling, out 
of a total of 17,000,000?. The abolition of duty on coffee in the 
United States, and its reduction from dd. to l^d. a pound in England, 
came as a timely relief to the Brazilian planter, and with the in- 
creased prices for it will enable him for some time longer not abso- 
lutely to break down. 



72 



COFFEE. 



The quarters to wliicli Brazilian coffee is shipped may be divided 
into three classes — 1, the United States ; 2, Northern European and 
Channel ports ; and 3, Mediterranean ports. The relative proportions 
to each are shown bj the exports of 1871, in bags: 

United States 1,354,346 

North Europe 689,917 

Mediterranean 198,498 

Different ports 115,243 

2,358,004 



As the United States monopolise the chief supply of Brazilian 
coffee, it may be interesting to note their aggregate imports of all 
kinds, which have been as follows : 



Lbs. 

1790 4,150,754 

1800 7,408,196 

1810 5,352,082 

1820 13,291,857 

1830 51,488,248 



Lbs. 

1840 94,996,095 

1850 144,986,895 

1870 282,540,737 

1874 295,271,697 



The American consumption of Brazil coffee alone during 1874 was 
103,751 tons, or an average of 8646 tons a month. This is the 
largest consumption of Brazil coffee in the United States ever known, 
except that of 1870, when 108,502 tons were consumed. The con- 
sumption there is about one-fourth of the entire world, and more than 
any one country on the globe. 

In the Pacific Islands some attention has been given to coffee 
culture. Large plantations of coffee trees were made at Tahiti in 
1862, with the view of supplying Chili, California, and Sydney. The 
amount of production there is only about ten tons. In 1868, 78,373 lbs. 
of coffee were shipped from the Hawaiian Islands. 

Java. — The Eev. E. Abbay thus described in the Ceylon papers in 
the close of 1874 the system of coffee culture in Java : 

" The parasites that injure the trees are mostly similar to those in 
Ceylon, the chief one being a species of Loranthus. As to the private 
coffee estates, there are only slightly over one hundred of all kinds in 
the whole of Java, less in acreage than one-twentieth of the extent of 
Government garden ; some of them are on low ranges of hills or 
plateaux, elevated only a few hundred feet above the sea. The 
systems of cultivation, as well as the size and character of the trees 
on these estates, vary considerably. On the Merapi, a still active 
volcano (pardon the Irishism), the trees are topped at four or five 
feet, and a system of pruning and cultivation is attempted similar to 
that in Ceylon, but as yet has not been a decided success. Whether 
the soil is naturally poorer here than elsewhere, or the method adopted 
is unsuited to the tree or the climate, I am not able to give an opinion, 
but I am informed, on good authority, that the old plan of leaving the 
trees to themselves leads to better crops than the new one. My own 
impression of the cause of the relative smallness of the produce of 
Java plantations, compared with those of Ceylon before the Hemileia 



COFFEE. 



73 



vastatrix made its appearance (for there is not a shadow of that 
fungoid disease in Java at the present time), is that the climate, 
except in reasonably dry years, is far too forcing. The trees appear 
to produce a great luxuriance of leaf and wood, but only a moderate 
proportion of fruit, 4 cwts. per acre being considered a very good 
average crop ; but 10 cwts. are sometimes obtained in exceptionally 
favourable years. No such thing as an average of 8 or 10 cwts. per 
acre is known ; and yet this was not uncommon, I believe, in Ceylon, 
as long as the trees remained healthy. The lower estates come into 
bearing much sooner, and produce more than the higher, but they do 
not last so long, ten or fifteen years being the limit of profitable life 
for trees at 1000 feet above sea-level ; whilst those at 3000 and 4000 
feet attain to forty, fifty, or even more, years of age. At Makmedon, 
some 20 miles south-east of Buitenzorg, and at an elevation of be- 
tween 2000 and 3000 feet, there are trees still alive, but neglected 
and bearing no crop, which were planted in 1786. They are now 
some 40 feet high, with trunks of the thickness of a man's thigh. 
What care, instead of persistent neglect, might have done for them, it 
is impossible to say ; but I see no reason to think that a centenarian 
coffee tree must of necessity be an unprofitable one, at least in Java. 
On the higher estates at present under cultivation, many of the trees 
reach a height of 30 or 40 feet, and the crop is picked by means of 
ladders. These trees are planted 25 feet by 25 feet, on terraces 
25 feet wide (a row of trees for each terrace), grass being planted at 
the edge to prevent the friable soil being washed down during the 
rains. Most frequently the terrace itself is covered with grass, which 
is either cut for cattle or dug up round the roots of the tree, accord- 
ing to the taste of the planter. The yield of such trees is about 6 
or 7 lbs. of prepared coffee per tree, i. e. between 3 and 4 cwts. of this 
per acre. No pruning, of course, can be done on a tree of this kind, 
and it is left entirely to the tender mercies of nature and the women 
who pick the crop and break the branches. 

" But I think that instead of a desultory description like the above, 
I had better give you an account of the estate on which I stayed two 
days, and where I obtained most of my information on this subject, as 
you will understand better the daily routine of a planter's life and the 
method of cultivation than if I gave you a lot of isolated statistics. 
The estate alluded to is situated on a plateau about 800 feet above 
the sea, some 12 miles distant from Samarang, and belongs to a 
Mr. Grave, who is very anxious to introduce all the advantages of the 
Ceylon method of cultivation into the Dutch system, and for that pur- 
pose intends shortly paying a visit to the Kandyan provinces, where I 
do not doubt he will be hospitably welcomed by his brother planters. 
The land of the estate was formerly under forest, and the right to cut 
timber having been sold to an Englishman many years ago, a short 
lease of the land for the purposes of coffee cultivation was afterwards 
granted by the Government, at an annual rent of a few guilders per 
acre — generally from two to six — according to the value of the soil. 
The teak having been cut down and sold, the clearing is burnt in the 
same way as in Ceylon, and then laid out with roads in square 
or oblong plots, about 30 acres each, the nearly perfectly level 



74 



COFFEE. 



character of the ground rendering this possible. Holes, 20 inches by 
20 inches, and 18 inches deep, are dug in rows 8 feet apart, the holes 
in the rows being only half that distance from each other. 

" These distances are now considered to be too small, and 10 by 9 
and 9 by 9 will in future be adopted. The young plants, if grown in a 
nursery, are then very carefully removed, along with the soil they have 
grown in, which is taken up in cubes some 6 inches each way, and 
planted out by women at the rate of sixty or seventy a day, care being 
taken to cut the tap-root at the point where it emerges from the lump 
of soil. These plants, when removed, are generally about six months 
old, at which period they are about 12 inches high, and their growth 
afterwards is so extremely rapid that many that I saw, though only 
nine months in the ground, were from 2 to 3 feet in height, and 
covered vdth blossom ; others only twenty months old were 6 and 
8 feet high, and capable of bearing J lb. coffee (prepared) per tree. 
The system of nursery planting is here considered to be a very 
expensive one, as the beans have to be planted at regular intervals in 
the nurseries, and small pieces of bamboo put in to mark where each 
plant is expected to appear. Besides this, the plants have to be regu- 
larly watered and kept under shade, and the number that can be put 
into the ground by each woman, when the clearing is being planted, 
is only sixty or seventy a day. The other system is to gather the 
casual plants from gardens on the hills, the plants being removed by 
loosening the soil with a knife, and then pulling them up by the roots 
and carrying them away in bundles. They have then their tap-root 
cut to a length of about 6 or 8 inches, and are planted frequently in 
the hills by merely making a hole with a stick and pushing in the 
roots, but sometimes in holes 6 inches square and deep, or else in 
ordinary 20-inch holes. 

" The gi-owth of these plants is considered to be much slower than is 
the case with nursery plants, but they produce much more hardy and 
lasting trees. At the same time that the coffee plants are put into 
the ground, a row of dadap or silk cotton trees is planted between 
every second row of coffee trees, the intermediate space being occupied 
by a small drain, not so much to prevent wash as to relieve the soil 
from too much water. All plantations have this rapid-growing soft- 
wood tree, and the appearance they present is totally different from 
that to which one gets accustomed in Ceylon. 

"In future the Albizzia moluccana, now referred to the Acacias 
(A. JuUhrissin, Willd.), will probably be largely planted, as it is a 
very fast growing tree, and has other advantages over the dadap. 

" Indigo is very frequently planted among the yomig coffee plants, 
chiefly in order to keep down the alang-alang, but also to be used as a 
manure for weakly trees, if there are any on the estate. As the tree 
progresses no attempt is made to check its luxuriance, and it grows 
up with several small stems from the ground into a native coffee tree, 
8 or 10 feet high. It is only pruned when branches show signs of decay, 
or when the borer, which is very destructive, compels the planter to 
cut down the stems attacked. The weeds are dug up with mammoties, 
to a depth of 6 inches, and piled in rows between the shade trees parallel 
to the lines of coffee. These weeds, among which is the alang-alang, 



COFFEE. 



75 



consist chiefly of grasses, most of which are readily eaten by cattle, 
and furnish fodder apparently quite as good as Guinea grass ; indeed, 
many of the marvellous little horses found everywhere in Java are 
fed on nothing but these grasses, and yet they are superior in strength 
and endui'ance to either Arabs or Australians. When an estate shows 
signs of decay after ten or fifteen years, the coffee trees are all cut 
down, the dadap trees being either felled or ringed near the roots, so 
that they decay gradually and fall piecemeal to the ground, and the 
process of replanting coffee and shade trees is repeated in the same 
manner as before. In this way land may be replanted several times, 
and the later garden be better than the earlier. Nothing, I think, 
contrasts more the richness of the soil of Java, as compared with that 
of Ceylon, than this fact. The ground never seems to be exhausted, 
and when it is partially used up on the surface you have only to go 
deeper, and you get a richer soil at once. The rainy season, here the 
north-west monsoon, begins generally about October, and ends in 
February ; and the time for planting is therefore December. The 
crop is gathered in March and April, and the blossoms appear 
generally about August or September, though on the hills there are 
blossoms, green berries, and ripe fruit on the trees at the same time 
for a considerable part of the year. This past year has been generally 
a favoui-able one throughout the island, and the total yield is expected 
to be about 1,500,000 cwts. The prospects of the coming crop, 
however, are by no means good. As the dry season has been a 
wet one, the trees have had no wintering, and the heavy blossoms, 
which ought already to have made their appearance, are nowhere to 
be seen. 

" As regards the work of the estate, the women alone are employed 
for picking and j)reparing the coffee, as they are for putting out the 
young plants ; the amount gathered by each woman, in an average sea- 
son, being about 13 lbs. coffee (when prepared) per day. The men are 
meanwhile employed in the field-work, weeding, manuring, &c. After 
the cherry has been gathered, it is spread on barbecues to dry for 
several days, after which it is pounded in small bamboo baskets, and 
the outer parchment and silver skins taken off. The peaberry is then 
separated fi-om the ordinary beans by a skilful shake of the tray by 
which it has been winnowed, and the coffee is then ready for the 
European market. The value of this produce in the coast towns at 
present is about 74s. per cwt., and the cost to put it on board in good 
years amounts to only about 20s. to 25s. per cwt. ; in bad years to 
35s. to 40s. per cwt. The soil of the estate which I have been 
describing is of an extremely rich, dark, oily-looking, half-formed 
clay, crumbling easily in the hand, but sticking in masses to the 
feet, rendering walking on a wet day somewhat laborious. This 
soil extends generally to a depth of 20 or 30 inches, when a 
redder and more gravelly, but still very rich, soil is met with, which 
seems only to need exposure to the air for the development of its 
fertility. On the mountain slopes the soil is generally much more 
friable and liable to be washed away in the monsoon rains, and there- 
fore is protected by means of terraces and a matwork of weeds and 
grasses on the surface. The labour question here, as in Ceylon, is 



76 



COFFEE. 



one of considerable difficulty, but it is a difficulty of a widely different 
character ; on this estate, consisting of about 1600 acres, of which 
nearly 1000 acres are under coffee, there are thirteen villages or 
campongs, each with its own headman and plot of land attached to it. 
Between 2000 and 3000 Javanese occupy these villages, of whom 800 
are able-bodied men emj)loyed chiefly on the estate, their task (the 
weeding of thirty to thirty-five or forty trees) being allotted to each 
man day by day, and the payment for the work (5cZ.) is made every 
evening. When there is a demand for extra labour, the headmen 
induce stragglers from other villages to undertake task work, and 
they are paid in the same way as the ordinary labourers. In this 
manner the number employed varies from 500 to 1500, according to 
the demand which the Government is making at the time on their 
service imder the compulsory labour system. This diversion of 
valuable labour during crop time is sometimes a cause of great loss 
and annoyance to planters, and certainly has a tendency to make 
them very discontented with the present system of enforced labour. 
The Javanese, as labourers, seem in no way difficult to manage, but 
are very respectful and obedient, in this respect forming a marked 
contrast to the half-caste Malays and Sundanese in the western part 
of the island. Of course, like all peasants of the tropics, they will 
do bad work, if they are permitted ; but a European administrator 
and two or three half-caste overseers are amply sufficient for the 
working of this large estate, which in Ceylon would require three, 
if not four, Europeans, besides conductors, &c., for its proper manage- 
ment. 

" In conclusion, I may state that at present it is of no use for an 
Englishman to come to Java as a coffee planter, even though he has 
capital. By law, he cannot lease a piece of land, but must have 
a Dutch partner whom he can trust perfectly, for a bond between the 
two, where land is in question, is of no validity in a court of law, 
and everything must be trusted to the man whose name is put forward 
as the owner. The chances of buying a piece of private land are too 
remote and uncertain to tempt anyone, except a resident in the island, 
to think of such an investment. The labour is frequently not to be 
obtained when everything else seems favourable ; arid lastly, the 
Government is not inclined to thrust the instruments of success into 
the hands of the foreigner, if they can by any possibility use them 
themselves. But, supposing all these difficulties have been overcome, 
the English planter will find that, however valuable his estate may 
be, he cannot raise a cent by mortgaging it, because it is still Govern- 
ment property and incapable of being mortgaged ; and finally, when 
all Government obstructiveness and attempts at exclusion have been 
overcome, if that is possible, he will find that there is something in 
the nature of the coffee enterprise in Java, whether it be the forcing 
nature of the climate, or the excessive richness of the soil, or the 
system of cultivation, I cannot tell, but still something which prevents 
men amassing fortunes and returning home, as most Englishmen are 
anxious to do, after a few years in the East." 

The coffee crop of Java being taken at 1,500,000 cwts., we are 
able to obtain an approximate idea of the area under coffee culti- 



COFFEE. 



77 



vation in the Dutcli colony, and, as we have a similar approximation 
in regard to Brazil, we are now in a position to institute a very 
interesting and curious comparison between the three great coffee 
countries of the world — a comparison which will show that if, in the 
British colony, a portion of the capital in land has been wasted, by 
the unwillingness of some and the inability of others, to restore 
to the soil fertilising substances in lieu of produce grown and 
shipped, yet the colonists are not liable to the charge of using, or 
rather misusing, the maximum of area to get the minimum of result. 
Taking Mr. Abbay's estimate, that nineteen-twentieths of the land 
under coffee in Java is Government land, yielding only an average of 
1 cwt. per acre, the remaining twentieth of private plantations, yield- 
ing an average of 4 cwts., it follows that in Java the bushes, which 
yield 1,500,000 cwts. of marketable coffee, are equivalent in acreage 
to 1,304,000. Something, perhaps, ought to be allowed for coffee 
locally consumed ; but if we reduce the acreage to 1,200,000, ample 
allowance will be made for this element. The figures for comparison, 
or rather contrast, will then stand thus : 







Total Yield in 
Cwts. 


Area of Cultivation. 


Avei-age Yield 
per Acre. 








4,000,000 
1,500,000 
862,826* 


1,400,000 
1,200,000 
257,000 


cwts. 

2- 85 
1-25 

3- 35 








6,362,826 


2,857,000 


2-48 





* Average (adversely affected by leaf disease) of five seasons' crops, plantation and native. 



Of course, it will not be forgotten that in the case of Brazil 
a large quantity of provisions for the labourers is grown amongst 
the widely-scattered coffee trees ; while in Java shade trees seem to 
be universal. Grasses are grown amongst the coffee ; Lantana is (and 
justly) valued for its deposition of humus; while even what the 
Ceylon planters reckon their most deadly foe, the Ageratum (a plant 
which takes from the soil precisely the elements which the coffee tree 
needs), is valued for its supposed power of ameliorating the stiffness 
of clayey soils. But, all allowance made, it is evident that in the 
British colony alone have the principles of scientific cultivation of 
the coffee plant been adopted and carried out. Cinchona and tea 
are now coming in as disturbing elements ; but so jealous have a 
majority of the planters been of allowing any product to dispute 
possession with the closely-planted and carefully-tended coffee, that 
they have erred in refusing to allow room enough for grasses in 
ravines or spare spots for feeding those cattle, without which " per- 
manency," even in its restricted sense of thirty-five to fifty years, 
cannot be legitimately looked for. The Ceylon planters grow coffee, 
while India, which sends them labour, supplies also the food of the 
labourers. The circumstances of both its great rivals are different, 
but certainly not more favourable ; and, as Mr. W. Sabonadiere re- 



78 



COFFEE. 



marks, if only the Hemileia vastatrix would take to itself wings and 
flee away, tliey would be able to bold tbeir own against all com- 
petitors, certainly against Java, rich as its soil may be. Can a soil be 
too rich ? Mr. Abbay suggests the possibility, and certainly it would 
seem that the climate is, at any rate in the lower elevations, too 
forcing. A Ceylon planter might well be pardoned some tinge of 
envious feeling as he reads of subsoil and top-soil, equally rich ; but 
he may well stand aghast when he learns that on such rich stratum 
and substratum, coffee trees and shade trees require to be cut down at 
the end of each fifteen years, the process being possible three times 
in succession, with the last garden better than the first ! Of course 
the silk cotton trees must yield, at each renovation, a large supply of 
humus, apart from the natural richness of the soil ; but we should 
like to see the profit and loss account of the plantings and re- 
plantings. Were there such soil in Ceylon, the planters would do 
their best to make the first planting " permanent," at least to the 
extent of the thirty-five years involved in the three processes ; but a 
climate which renders the use of shade trees universal must have an 
influence on coffee planting in Java to which we ought to allow due 
weight, having before our eyes the results of abandoning shade in 
the case of such low, hot districts in Ceylon as Kurnegala, Kadu- 
gannava, &c. 

The 'Ceylon Observer ' remarks upon this: — "It is quite a new 
idea, and also a contrast to the general conditions in Ceylon, that the 
soil on the higher mountain slopes should be poorer than that at low 
elevations. For the rest, experiments on old Hantane, which we 
noticed a few years ago, told most favourably of the renovating effects 
of Lantana, the roots of which open up the soil, while its dropped 
leaves and seeds cover the sm'face with a moist, warm carpeting 
of humus. On a fair proportion of our soils, we have no doubt that 
coffee can a second time be grown after a period of seven to ten years 
following under Lantana. But in general what we look for is this : 
That with the facilities for manuring, &c., offered by railway exten- 
sion, the present young and vigorous coffee estates may attain a 
profitable permanency, of about half a century (Mr. Abbay does not 
see why a centenarian tree should not yield profitably), and that then 
coffee should give place to tea, cinchona, and other equally profitable 
products. Those who ask ' Where will Ceylon and its railway be 
when coffee goes out ? ' are looking too far ahead in one sense, while 
their vision is miserably limited on the other hand. Humanity, 
human discovery, invention, and enterprise are not likely to stand 
still, but rather to advance at accelerated speed. A score of years 
ago and the idea of cinchona in Ceylon had not been breathed ; but in 
ten years, from this time we ventm'e to predict that Ceylon will con- 
tain more cinchona trees than the rest of the world, old and new, put 
together. And so the tea enterprise is advancing, and will advance. 
Cocoanuts and cinnamon are also going ahead. Therefore we may well 
trust to the future of Ceylon while we do our duty in the present, send- 
ing well-pulped, washed and prepared coffee into the markets of the 
world; and probably by the time Brazil and Java have gone any 
length in copying our example, the plague of leaf disease may have 



TEA. 



79 



departed. They had it in Brazil, and it is gone ; and if there is no 
trace of leaf disease in Java, the borer is very destructive. Noticing 
in passing that the alang-alang of Java is the Hook grass of Ceylon 
{Imjperata Koenigii, P. de B.), we may, we think, finally adopt the con- 
clusion that, whatever the • disadvantages we in Ceylon labour under 
may be, we are certainly, in many respects, far in advance of our com- 
petitors in Brazil and Java, favoured as both may be in large areas 
of rich soil. We have good land tenures and liberal government, 
a fairly adequate supply of labour, a climate in most respects unsur- 
passed for salubrity by any in the tropics ; our means of communica- 
tion, though not yet perfect, are extensive. If Providence will remove 
the plague of leaf disease, and Government will with energy carry 
out railway extension, while the breakwater is advancing, we do not 
know that there would be much room left even for the most typical 
of Englishmen to exercise his hereditary and proverbial privilege of 
grumbling." 

TEA. 

Extensive as the production and consumption of the preceding 
articles of commerce described — Coffee and Cocoa — are, they cannot 
be compared in importance with Tea, the consumption of which over 
the world is enormous, and continually increasing. 

The progress of the production of tea in other countries than 
China is necessarily interesting, as calculated to make the world more 
independent for its supplies. 

Besides India, Java, and Japan, in the East, where it has made 
good progress, efforts are making to introduce it in parts of Australia, 
such as Queensland and Victoria, in Jamaica and Mauritius. 

From Ceylon shipments are already made. It is said to be also 
cultivated in the Corea, TonkiD, and Cochin China. 

Parts of North and South America afford a vast field for tea 
culture. And it has long been attempted with some degree of success 
in Brazil and parts of the United States. 

Madeira, Teneriffe, Portugal, Spain, France, Algeria, Italy, Austria, 
Turkey, and the Crimea, might all grow tea, for their climates are 
quite suitable ; Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand are admirably 
adapted likewise, but they have little or no labour to bestow on such 
a cultivation. Java has long taken up tea culture, and produces 
seven or eight millions of pounds. 

Tea is a very accommodating plant, both as respects climatic range 
and the nature of the soil in which it is planted. We find it 
growing from Pekin — which frequently has winters of Eussian 
severity — to Canton and Macao, where the sugar-cane and pine-apple 
find sufficient heat to render them sure and profitable crops. The 
plant seems quite capable of withstanding winters of very intense 
frost, provided the summers are of sufficient duration and heat to 
mature perfectly the newly-formed wood which it makes. Any 
country, therefore, having a long and hot summer and a cold winter 
can grow tea. 

So far back as 1844 some success attended the efforts of a private 



80 



TEA. 



individual, M. Jaiinet, in the cultivation of tlie tea plant in the island 
of Mauritius. Chinese labourers were employed to assist him in the 
further culture of this important plant, the expense being borne 
by the Colonial Government : others were also engaged for a similar 
purpose in the Botanical Garden. 

At a later period Mr. Boyer, of Port Louis, succeeded in raising 
40,000 tea trees, and expressed the opinion that if the island of 
Eeunion would give itself up to the cultivation, it might easily 
supply France with all the tea she requires, which is but little. The 
black tea that has been produced in that island is of a good quality. 

Although those climates where it has been introduced will grow the 
plant, yet the manipulation of the leaf has hitherto been so little 
understood that only two of these countries can yet claim tea as 
among their leading productions. India and Java ex23ort quantities, 
but the bulk is the produce of estates, under managers who very 
frequently know comparatively little of the industry, and yet make 
marketable tea. 

In Transcaucasus, under a latitude corresponding to the northern 
parts of Niphon, Japan, good results have been obtained, and a com- 
pany has been formed to carry on tea cultivation. 

In many other quarters the tea plant would be found to grow 
well, but the difficulty to contend with in most of these is the cost 
of labour compared with China and India. 

Production and Consumption of Tea. — We may note the gradual 
increase of consumption in Great Britain and Ireland by the follow- 
ing figures : 

Lbs. Lbs. 

1820 22,452,050 1860 76,816,394 

JL830 30,047,079 1870 117,551,152 

1840 32,252,628 1875 145,327,432 

1850 51,172,302 



Proportion per head of the population : 





Lbs. 




Lbs. 




Lbs. 


1840 .. 


.. 1-22 


1861 .. 


.. 2-69 


1869 ,. 


.. 3-63 


1850 .. 


.. 1-86 


1862 .. 


.. 2-70 


1870 .. 


.. 3-81 


1855 .. 


2-28 


1863 


2-90 


1871 .. 


.. 3-92 


1856 


.. 2-26 


1864 .. 


.. 3-00 


1872 .. 


.. 4-01 


1857 .. 


.. 2-45 


1865 .. 


.. 3-29 


1873 .. 


.. 4-11 


1858 .. 


2-58 


1866 


.. 3-42 


1874 


.. 4-23 


1859 .. 


.. 2-67 


1867 .. 


.. 3-68 


1875 .. 


.. 4-44 


1860 .. 


.. 2-67 


1868 .. 


.. 3-52 







In a paper by my friend, Mr. L. Wray, read before the Society 
of Arts, in January, 1861, " On Tea and its Production in various 
Countries," * he enters into some calculations on tea consumption, and 
says : 

" We have no very certain means of estimating the quantity of tea 
consumed in China, but we may nevertheless draw conclusions from 
such data as we possess. Taking the population of the country, then, 
at 400 millions, and considering that the use of tea is universal 
amongst them ; that they drink it from early morning until they 

* ' Journal of the Society of Arts,' vol. ix. p. 137. 



TEA. 



81 



retire for the night ; that in sickness or health, working or resting, 
travelling or at home, it is the one great national beverage, without 
which no Chinese family conld live and thrive ; considering all this, 
I think I am not overrating it when I set it down at an average of 
6 lbs. a head per annum, or a total of 2000 millions of pounds ! Others 
estimate it much lower — Scherzer at 400 millions; Andrie at 500 
millions. Now, if we allow 100 lbs. of cured tea as the average produce 
per acre in China, this will show a cultivation of 20 million acres in tea 
alone, whereas lam more inclined to estimate it at 25 million acres. Just 
let us compare this with other cultures in other countries. France, 
which is not larger than one of the Chinese provinces, and contains 
less than one-twelfth the population of China, has, nevertheless, five 
million acres in vines. The Southern States of America have seven 
million acres in cotton, cultivated by less than one and a half million 
of negroes ; and India, with only half the population of China, has 
14 millions of acres in cotton. These comparisons are quite sufficient, 
I think, to prove that there is no improbability attached to the esti- 
mate I have given of the extent of land devoted to tea culture in 
China. I therefore leave out of the question the area occupied in 
different countries by such crops as rice, wheat, &c. 

" If we allow that the internal consumption of tea in China amounts 
to 2000 millions of pounds, we cannot but be struck at the compara- 
tively small quantity she exports; for, according to the latest 
statistics, we find that her total export of tea to all countries does 
not reach 200 million pounds, being less than one-tenth of her own con- 
sumption. Of this quantity the United Kingdom took about 78 million 
pounds in 1860." 

Now, if we carry down the estimates to the later period of the 
present time, we shall get at some rough estimate of the production 
and consumption of tea. I assume only half the quantity of tea 
Mr. Wray allows, for the home consumption of China. 



Production. 

Lbs. 

China, exports, 1873 242,000,000 

„ assumed home consumption .. .. 1,000,000,000 

British India, exports, 1 875 21 , 137 , 000 

„ assumed local consumption and 

export to A.sia 2,000,000 

Java, export 6,830,000 

Japan, export 12,000,000 

„ home consumption 5 , 000 , 000 

Ceylon, export 320,000 

Brazil, home consumption 500 , 000 

Other small producing countries 250 , 000 



Total 1,290,037,000 



Consumption. 

Of the statistics of consumption I am not able to furnish any 
complete details, as only for a few countries are the quantities of tea 
imported and sold given in their official returns. 

The following figures, however, are taken from the Statistical 
Abstract for the principal Foreign countries, and from other reliable 



82 



TEA. 



documents, for the year 1873, and dispose of a certain quantity of 
the tea produced and shipped from the East : 



IMS. 

Eussia 26,379,928 

Denmark 849,635 

Holland 9,625,200 

North Germany 2,000,000 

United Kingdom 132,022,159 

Spain, Gibraltar, and Malta .. .. 361,000 

Turkey 400,000 

France 6,500,000 

United States .. 51,028,904 

Dominion of Canada .. .. .. ., 8,776,781 

Newfoundland 599,104 

British West India Islands, Guiana, 

and Honduras .. 100,000 

South American States 1,000,000 

South African States . . 1 , 000 , 000 

Sierra Leone, St. Helena, Falklands, 

and Mauritius 30,000 

Victoria ■ 10,585,795 

New South Wales 5 , 021 , 219 

Queensland 1,355,575 

South Australia 1 , 678 , 325 

Tasmania 530,500 

New Zealand 2,301,308 



Total 262,645,433 



The consumption of tea, we are informed, increases yearly in the 
South of Germany, but statistics are wanting to indicate the progress 
of this increase. Austria, Italy, and many other European States are 
omitted for want of precise figures as to their tea consumption. 

Imports of tea into the United Kingdom, showing the producing 
countries : 



Year, 


British India and 
Ceylon. 


China. 


Japan. 


Total Imports. 




lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


1853 


551,800 


68,639,727 




70,735,135 


1854 


530,710 


83,301,550 




85,792,032 


1855 


470,559 


81,560,207 




83,259,657 


1856 


692,959 


84,795,802 




86,200,414 


1857 


1,849,966 


60,295,610 




64,493,989 


1858 


936,903 


73,359,599 




75,432,535 


1859 


1,483,101 


71,916,833 




75,077,452 


1860 


2,707,449 


85,295,129 




88,946,636 


1861 


1,983,785 


92,145,365 


1,348,911 


96,577,183 


1862 


1,870,306 


109.756,857 


2,450,270 


114,787,440 


1863 


2,564,000 


127,872,778 


1,788,000 
2,434,180 


138,880,990 


1864 


3,443,493 
2,037,586 


83,871,554 
112,782,845 


124,359,243 
121,271,220 


1865 


4,021,901 


1866 


5,413,583 


130,863,501 


1,908,800 


139,610,044 


1867 


7,776,001 


117,551,978 


1,585,099 


128,028,726 


1868 


9,099,444 


142,111,486 


1,041,150 


154,845,863 


1869 


11,241,070 


126,482,613 


704,275 


139,223,298 


1870 


12,923,993 


125,593,898 


238,005 
389,575 


141,020,767 


1871 


15,150,958 


151,636,036 


169,898,303 


1872 


16,445,170 


160,520,882 


93,774 


184,927,148 


1873 


18,471,063 


137,246,372 


311,849 


163,765,269 


1874 


18,092,673 


133,452,693 


128,305 


162,782,810 


1875 


25,387,359 


170,462,921 


54,806 


197,505,316 



TEA. 



83 



A great deal of scattered information has been published of late 
years with regard to tea culture, and the Indian Government has 
devoted much attention to the subject. With the diffuse mass of 
matter one has to deal with, I find it somewhat difficult to condense 
into a reasonable compass the conflicting opinions and elaborate 
details given. The third volume of the ' Journal of the Agricultural 
and Horticultural Society of India ' is mainly occupied with Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Edward Money's and Mr. Watson's elaborate essay on 
the cultivation and manufacture of tea in India. 

The Council of the Society of Arts, a few years ago, offered their 
silver medal for the best' treatise on the profitable production of 
tea ; but, although many essays were sent in, the Indian Committee, 
under the recommendation of the judges appointed, did not feel 
justified in awarding this medal, although they commended the essay 
of Mr. James Macpherson. 

Culture in China. — The tea plant (^Thea Chinensis, Sims; Camellia 
tlieifora, Griff.) has a bushy stem, with numerous branches, and very 
leafy. It flowers with a white blossom, and ranges in height, when 
fully grown, from three to six feet. It is hardy, and readily grows 
in Asia from the equator to the 45th degree of latitude ; but in China, 
although grown in most of the provinces, its cultivation is chiefly 
restricted to the five maritime provinces — viz. Kuangtung, Fukian, 
Kiangse, Kianguan, and Chekiang, lying in the south-east part of 
the empire, between the 21st and 33rd degrees north latitude. It is 
only from these that tea is brought for the great export demand, 
though it is grown in every other, as far north as 42 degrees for 
mere local consumption. It is also produced in the Japanese Islands 
which are north of 35 degrees ; in Cochin China, and, to some ' 
extent, by runaway Chinamen in Luzon and Java. It has been found 
to succeed, too, in St. Helena. The climate that seems to suit the 
plant best in China is that of the country included between the 26th 
and 36th degrees of north latitude. The plant does not yield a 
crop imder two or three years. A low alluvial soil is not favourable 
to its growth, a hilly country being decidedly the best adapted to its 
full development. There is little or none near Canton, for this 
reason, and also because the climate is too warm. All accounts agree 
that it thrives best in a temperate climate and upon the sides of 
hills. The crops are gathered in the spring. 

Baron Mueller remarks that it seems very doubtful whether the 
tea plant is really indigenous in the Chinese Empire, unless in the, 
to us, largely unknown western districts ; for, as far as we are aware, 
it has been carried from Assam and Cachar, and possibly also from 
Siam and Cochin, just like the coffee plant, which is not really a 
native of Arabia, as was so long supposed, but came originally from 
Abyssinia. The culture commenced, so far as can be historically 
ascertained, in China, during the fourth, and in Japan during the 
ninth century, from whence tea was obtained exclusively for every 
other part of the globe till the time of the present generation.* 

Tea grows in every province in China except three or four upon 
the northernmost Siberian border, but the quality and quantity 
depend largely upon the locality. The leaves resemble those of 

* Lecture at the Ballavat Farmers' Club, Victoria, May 15. 1875. 

G 2 



84 



TEA. 



the willow, and are gathered during the spring and early summer. 
The annual average yield of a tea plant is about twenty ounces, and 
too much rain affects the quality as well as the amount. The plants 
live from twenty to thirty years, and, when old, are frequently cut 
down, and a young shrub grafted into the old stock. Quicker returns 
are thus obtained, but the plant does not last so long. The leaves 
are first exposed in a cool, dry place for a day or two, then rolled into 
a ball on a table of bamboo slats, and dried in the sun. The rolling 
is to extract a portion of the juice of the leaves. After they have 
been dried in the sun, they are put into an egg-shaped iron pan over 
a charcoal fire, and incessantly stirred until a certain point of dryness 
is reached. The operator stirs with his hands, thrusting them in all 
portions of the pan, and practice enables him to dry the leaves almost 
exactly alike. The raiser superintends this process, and then brings 
his tea in bamboo baskets to the tea merchant, who adjudges its 
quality, and buys it at prices ranging from 15 dollars to 20 dollars 
per picul, of 133^ lbs. The merchant mixes his purchases toge- 
ther in a large reservoir, and at his convenience weighs out a number 
of pounds of tea leaves; women and children spread them upon a 
large stage, and separate the leaves into grades according to quality. 
The tea stalks are the lowest grade, and the sorters are paid by the 
number of ounces of stalks they bring in. Children earn from 2d. to 
6d a day ; the very best workers rarely earn as much as 6cZ. a day. 
Europeans could hardly live upon such wages, and until other nations 
can raise tea for 6(i. a pound they cannot compete with China in its 
production. 

After the sorting each grade is packed by itself in chests or 
bamboo baskets, the first for exportation and the latter for home con- 
sumption. It is ordered by importers abroad through a tea-taster, 
who receives a high salary. 

For Green Tea. — When the leaves are brought in from the planta- 
tions they are spread out thinly on flat bamboo trays, in order to dry 
off any superfluous moisture. They remain for a very short time 
exposed in this manner, generally from one to two hours; this, 
however, depends much upon the state of the weather. 

In the meantime the roasting pans have been heated with a brisk 
wood fire. A portion of leaves is now thrown into each pan, and 
rapidly moved about and shaken up with both hands. They are 
immediately affected by the heat, begin to make a crackling noise, 
and become quite moist and flaccid, while at the same time they give 
out a considerable portion of vapour. They remain in this state for 
four or five minutes, and are then drawn quickly out and placed upon 
the rolling table. 

Having been thrown again into the pan, a slow and steady charcoal 
fii'e is kept up, and the leaves are kept in rapid motion by the hands 
of workmen. Sometimes they are thrown upon the rattan table and 
rolled a second time. In about an hour or an hour and a half the 
leaves are well dried and their colour has become fixed — that is, 
there is no longer any danger of their becoming black. They are of 
a dullish green colour, but become brighter afterwards. 

The most particular part of the operation has now been finished, 



TEA. 



85 



and the tea may be put aside until a larger quantity has been made. 
The second part of the process consists in winnowing and passing 
the tea through sieves of different sizes, in order to get rid of the 
dust and other impurities, and to divide the tea into the different 
kinds known as twankay, hyson skin, hyson, young hyson, gun- 
powder, &c. During this process it is refired, the coarse kinds once, 
and the finer sorts three or four times. By this time the colour has 
come out more fully, and the leaves of the finer kinds are of a dull 
bluish green. 

It will be observed, then, with reference to green tea — 1st, that the 
leaves are roasted almost immediately after they are gathered ; and 
2nd, that they are dried off quickly after the rolling process. 

For Black Tea. — When the leaves are brought in from the planta- 
tions they are spread out upon large bamboo mats or trays, and are 
allowed to lie in this state for a considerable time. If they are 
brought in at night they lie until next morning. 

The leaves are next gathered up by the workmen with both hands, 
thrown into the air and allowed to separate and fall down again. 
They are tossed about in this manner, and slightly beat or patted 
with the hands, for a considerable space of time. At length, when 
they become soft and flaccid, they are thrown in heaps and allowed 
to lie in this state for about an hour, or perhaps a little longer. 
When examined at the end of this time, they appear to have under- 
gone a^slight change in colour, are soft and moist, and emit a fragrant 
smell. 

The rolling process now commences. Several men take their 
stations at the rolling table and divide the leaves amongst them. 
Each takes as many as he can press with his hands, and makes them 
up in the form of a ball. This is rolled upon the rattan table, 
worked and greatly compressed, the object being to get rid of a portion 
of the sap and moisture, and at the same time to twist the leaves. 
These balls of leaves are frequently shaken out and passed from 
hand to hand until they reach the head workman, who examines them 
carefully to see if they have taken the requisite twist. When he is 
satisfied of this, the leaves are removed from the rolling table and 
shaken out upon flat trays, until the remaining portions have under- 
gone the same process. In no case are they allowed to lie long in 
this state, and sometimes they are taken at once to the roasting pan. 

The next part of the process is exactly the same as in the manipu- 
lation of green tea. The leaves are thrown into an iron pan, where 
they are roasted for about five minutes, and then rolled upon the 
rattan table. 

After being rolled, the leaves are shaken out, thinly, on sieves, and 
exposed to the air out of doors. A framework for this purpose, made 
of bamboo, is geuerally seen in front of all the cottages amongst the 
tea hills. The leaves are allowed to remain in this condition for 
about three hours : during this time the workmen are employed in 
going over the sieves in rotation, turning the leaves and separating 
them from each other. A fine dry day, when the sun is not too 
bright, seems to be preferred for this part of the operation. 

The leaves, having now lost a large portion of their moisture, and 



86 



TEA. 



Laving become reduced considerably in size, are removed into the 
factory. They are put a second time into the roasting pan for three 
or four minutes, and taken out and rolled as before. 

The charcoal fires are now got ready. A tubular basket, narrow at 
the middle and wide at both ends, is placed over the fire. A sieve is 
dropped into this tube and covered with leaves, which are shaken on 
it to about an inch in thickness. After five or six minutes, during 
which time they are carefully watched, they are removed from the fire 
and rolled a third time. As the balls of leaves come from the hands 
of the roller they are placed in a heap until the whole have been 
rolled. They are again shaken on the sieves as before, and set over 
the fire for a little while longer. Sometimes the last operation — 
namely, heating and rolling, is repeated a fourth time ; the leaves 
have now assumed a dark colour. 

When the whole has been gone over in this manner it is then 
placed thickly in the baskets, which are again set over the charcoal 
fire. The workman now makes a hole with his hand through the 
centre of the leaves, in order to allow vent to any smoke or vapour 
which may rise from the charcoal, as well as to let the heat up, and 
then covers the whole over with a flat basket ; previous to this the 
heat has been greatly reduced by the fires being covered up. The tea 
now remains over the slow charcoal fire until it is perfectly dry; 
it is, however, carefully watched by the manufacturer, who every 
now and then stirs it up with his hands, so that the whole may be 
equally heated. The black colour is now fairly brought out, but 
afterwards improves in appearance ; the after processes, such as sift- 
ing, picking, and refining, are carried on at the convenience of the 
workmen. 

It is evident therefore that the main part of the preparation of 
the tea is carried on upon the spots where it is grown, and that an 
increased quantity could easily be prepared without any increase 
either of machinery or hands for the purpose. 

The British Consul at Shanghai, in a report in 1868, stated: — 
" The difficulty of judging the character of any tea in China has been 
seriously enhanced by our approach to the tea districts. Formerly 
this delicate herb required to be so well fired and packed by the 
Chinese as to stand the long overland journey from the tea districts to 
Canton, where it often came into the hands of the foreign shipper a 
whole year after it had been picked. Now, within six months of the 
time that the leaf was growing, we find the prepared article actually 
in the hands of the home consumer. A careless manipulation and 
an insecure kind of packing have thus been gradually adopted by the 
Chinese, who find all that is wanted is, that the tea should arrive 
unimpaired into the godown of the foreign merchant, often not three 
days' journey from the up-country packing house. The fragrant 
smell of the newly -dried herb deceives the buyer, whose home cor- 
respondent comes into possession of a totally flavourless preparation. 
The subordinate part allotted to the cultivation of the tea plant in 
China is one of the most striking facts observed by the traveller in the 
country. When he first arrives in the tea districts he is led to imagine 



TEA. 



87 



himself still only on their confines ; isolated patches here and there 
meet his eye, in place of the wholesale plantations he had looked 
forward to, and on inquiry he finds that among the enumeration of 
taxable lands sent in to the Emperor, tea land is entirely ignored. In 
fact, until recently, the up-country farmer, who persists in growing 
an inferior paddy almost on the highest mountain tops, on the theory 
that each district should, as nearly as possible, be self-supporting, 
grew a few shrubs in the corner of his garden, or gathered for his 
own requirements from the wild hill plant. Although of late years 
the country people have begun to see the value placed on a hitherto 
almost worthless herb, the cultivation of the high tea plant is still far 
from being carried on in a really systematic manner, and five or six 
piculs is a large average yield for an individual farm." 

In China tea nurseries are seldom extensive, but every village has 
its one or two acres devoted to the national product. 

Shanghai is the leading tea port in China, not only for shipments 
to Great Britain, but also to America. To show its progress, I 
append a few figures of the exports of tea from China to the United 
Kingdom : 



1851 
1861 
1870 
1875 



Canton. 
42 
.. 41 
.. 17 
.. 20 



Shanghai. 
22 
11 
71 
81 



38 
53 
62 • 



Amoy. 

*i 



Total. 

64 million lbs. 

90 
142 
163 



In addition to this, the American trade is important. Of the 
fifty million pounds and upwards sent from China to the United 
States, Shanghai exports more than half, nearly all green tea, which 
is much more esteemed by the Americans than by ourselves, as may 
be shown by the fact that while in the three years ending 1873 we 
imported from Shanghai an average of nine million pounds of green 
tea, America took over twenty millions. 

A quarter of a century ago the Americans used to take double the 
quantity of green tea they did black, but now they are beginning to 
give more preference to black. 

The American import of tea at the Atlantic ports, exclusive of 
California, was as follows in — 

Lbs. Lbs. 

1845 20,762,558 1870 33,964,096 

]850 21,757,800 1874 52,424,545 

1861 17,482,000 | 



Eussia takes about one- seventh of the foreign exports of tea from 
China. 290,000 pouds of 36 lbs. go yearly from Canton to Eussia. 
In 1873 the three commercial companies established at Hankow sent 
to Eussia 826,117 cases of tea, of which 10,000 were black tea. Two 
Eussian steamers also loaded with tea at Hankow for Odessa, and 
8000 cases were sent by the way of Nikolievsk and the Amoor river, 
and a good deal by land via Tientsin and Kalgar to Kiachta. 

Quantities of each description of tea exported annually to foreign 



88 



TEA. 



countries from tlie tourtcen treaty ports of Cliina, in piculs of 
133 lbs. : 



Year. 


Black. 


Green. 


Brick. 


loDO 






ZJ7,0 ill 






175,752 


14,307 


1865 


967,025 


215,680 


1866 


947,063 


189,790 


18,504 


1867 


1,042,229 


223,434 


65,277 
53,123 


1868 


1,191,497 


220,002 


1869 


1,214,631 


230,945 


73.521 


1870 


1,087,121 


227,481 


62,896 


1871 


1,362,634 


232,617 


83,790 


1872 


1,420,170 


256,464 
260,440 


96.994 


1873 


1.264,651 


106,875 



These figures show an export of about 236,000,000 lbs. 

Besides the brick teas forwarded ma Tientsin and Kiachta to Siberia 
and Eussia, considerable quantities are sent from Hankow and vicinity 
up the Han river to Fan-cheng, where overland carriage is resorted 
to. No figures are available for the years previous to 1871, but in 
1871, 111,062 piculs, and in 1872, 100,920 piculs, were thus for- 
warded to Siberia and Mongolia. 

From the port of Shanghai the following were the exports of tea in 
1871, in piculs of 133 lbs. : 



Kinds. 


To Foreign 
Countries. 


To Chinese 
Ports. 


Total. 


Black 

Dust 

Brick 


435,182 
220,855 
146 
456 
387 
1,759 
2,415 


12,622 
334 
692 
74 
71,680 
11 
2 


447,804 
221,189 
838 
530 
72,067 
1,770 
2,417 


Total .. .. .. 


661,200 


85,415 


746,615 




The countries to which the shipments were made in 1871 were as 
follows, in piculs : 


To- 


Black. 


Green. 


F Total. 


British America 


416,825 
300 
497 
3 

362 
26 
2,066 
14,515 
382 
206 


57,393 
3,747 
3,910 
2 

i'm 


474,218 
4,047 
4,407 
5 

362 
5,043 
2,066 
165,252 
382 
255 


United States of America 


150',737 
**49 


Total to Foreign countries 
„ Chinese ports 


435,182 
12,622 


220,855 
333 


656,037 
12,955 


Total 


447,804 


221,188 


668,992 



TEA. 



89 



History of Tea Planting in India. — Moorcroft's 'Travels in the 
Himalayas in 1821/ brought the existence of tea in India to the 
notice of the Board of Directors of the East India Company. 
Mr. J. W. Edgar, in an official summary * published in Calcutta, 
states there have been lively disputes as to the first discoverer of 
tea in Assam and the date of its discovery. It is probable that a 
Mr. C. A. Bruce, who commanded a division of gunboats in Upper 
Assam during the first Burmese war, brought down from Upper Assam 
some plants and seed of the indigenous plant in 1826, and he actually 
received a medal from the London Society of Arts. But his claims to 
have been the first discoverer of tea was disputed by a Captain 
Charlton, who asserted that the existence of tea in Assam had been 
first established by himself in 1832. In 1834 a committee was 
appointed to inquire into and report on the possibility of introducing 
the cultivation of tea into India. 

On the 24th April, 1844, Dr. Eoyle delivered an interesting lecture 
at an evening meeting of the Eoyal Asiatic Society, " On the Cultiva- 
tion of Tea in the Himalaya Mountains." He mentioned the great 
difficulty experienced with regard to tea cultivation in obtaining any 
correct information from China on the subject. It appeared that 
the tea plant was cultivated in China from 17° to 36° of N. lat. ; but 
the black teas of commerce chiefly from 27° to 28° ; and the green 
from 28° to 31° of N. lat., in soils rather poor than rich, and in a 
climate subject to great extremes. Dr. Eoyle then adverted to the 
relative positions of China and India, and called attention especially 
to the Himalayan Mountains, as containing the same varieties of 
climate as was found in the tea districts of China. From the nature 
of the plants found in the Himalayas, Dr. Eoyle had long thought 
that the tea plant could be cultivated there ; in 1827, and again in 
1831, he recommended to the Indian Government the desirability 
of making the attempt. In 1832 Dr. Wallich presented a paper to 
the Board of Control on the subject ; and in 1834 Dr. Eoyle, in the 
third number of his ' Illustrations of Himalayan Botany,' gave an 
essay on the cultivation of tea in the Himalayas, which coincided 
remarkably with a report sent from India at the same time by 
Dr. Falconer. With the sanction of the Court of Directors, he 
determined upon making the experiment ; and in 1834 a committee 
was formed, reports called for, and Messrs. Gordon and Gutzlaff were 
sent to China to obtain seeds, information, and workmen. After visit- 
ing the Ankoy Tea-hills, and obtaining seeds, these gentlemen were 
recalled on the discovery of the tea plant of Assam. The seeds 
were sown at Calcutta, and the seedlings distributed to the tea 
nurseries ; but only 500 reached Assam alive : 1326 reached the 
hill nurseries in 1836. In December 1838 Dr. Falconer wrote that 
the tea plant was thriving vigorously in two, and had flowered in 
three, of the above nurseries. In 1841, 5000 plants were flourishing ; 
many of them bushy shrubs, about five feet high. In 1842 nine 
Chinese tea manufacturers, who had been in Assam, were sent to the 
tea nurseries in Kumaon and Gurhwal, who immediately recognised 
the plant under cultivation as the genuine Chinese, and of a superior 
quality to that grown in Assam. In 1843 the Chinamen prepared 
* 'Tea luduistry in Bengal.' 



90 



TEA. 



some tea from tlie above plants, which was considered, in Calcutta, to 
be marketable in London at about 2s. 6d. per pound. In 1843 sixteen 
canisters of black (Poucbong) tea were forwarded to London, and 
although somewhat damaged on the voyage, the tea was valued at 
from 2s. 6d. to 3s. per pound. The appearance and flavour' of the best 
samples were unexceptionable, and fully justified the opinion that the 
tea shrub in the Kumaon plantations is the genuine China plant. 

In 1835 the first attempt was made by Government to establish an 
experimental plantation in Luckimpore, but it failed, and the plants 
were afterwards removed to Joypore, in the Seebsaugor district, and a 
garden established, which was sold to the Assam Company in 1840. 
This company, which was formed about 1839, was the first, and is 
still very much the greatest, concern for the cultivation of tea in 
Bengal. It was not, however, very prosperous during its early years, 
and in 1846-47 its shares are said by Mr. Campbell to have been 
almost unsaleable. Its prospects began to improve about 1852, and in 
1859 it was reported officially to have a cultivated area of about 
3967 acres, with an estimated out-turn of over 760,000 lbs. of tea. 
Meantime tea cultivation had been commenced in many other districts. 
In 1850 a garden was started by Colonel Hannay near Debrooghur ; 
and in 1853, when Mr. Mills, of the Sudder Court, visited Assam, he 
found three private gardens in Seebsaugor, and six in Luckimpore. 
In 1854 the first gardens were started in DuiTung and Kamroop. In 
1855 indigenous tea was found in Cachar ; and the first garden in the 
district was commenced in the cold season of that year. In the fol- 
lowing year (1856) tea was discovered in Sylhet, but I do not think 
that any attempt at cultivating it was made for some time after. 
Attempts had been made to cultivate tea at Darjeeling previous to 
1853, when the district was reported on by Mr. Welby Jackson ; but 
I think that the date of the commencement of the industry may be 
taken as 1856-57. The earliest notice of tea in Chota Nagpore which 
I can find is in 1862 ; and about the same time the cultivation was 
seriously commenced in Chittagong, though experiments had been 
made in that district as early as 1840. It may be said generally, 
however, that the foundations of the present tea industry were laid 
between 1856 and 1859. In the latter year the labour difficulty 
began to be seriously felt in Assam and Cachar ; but although Colonel 
Jenkins, Commissioner of Assam, recorded a serious warning, no one 
else seemed able to foresee the formidable dangers into which the too 
rapid progress of the industry would bring it. Later still, in 1862-63, 
officials as well as planters seem to have indulged in visions of 
fabulous prosperity, which only deepened the gloom of the miserable 
time that was so soon to come on them. 

This depreciation of tea property continued during the years 1866, 
1867, and 1868, but about 1869 things began to look brighter. It 
was seen that people who had worked steadily for years with a view to 
make gardens that would yield a profit had been rewarded, while much 
of the property of the collapsed companies had turned out well under 
careful management. In fact, it was again found out that tea would 
pay, and ever since it has been steadily progressing in j^opular esti- 
mation, and, as a general rule, in profit to those engaged in it. There 



TEA. 



91 



cannot be the slightest doubt that the industry is in an infinitely better 
and safer position now than it was ten years ago. The existing gardens 
are, as a general rule, well filled with plant, highly cultivated, and 
carefully managed. The amount of tea produced per acre, although 
falling far short of the sanguine expectations of the first days of tea 
planting, is satisfactory in all the more important districts, while 
the prices obtained now show that the average quality must be very 
good. There is every reason to hope that the labour difficulty is dis- 
appearing in Cachar ; and in spite of the complaints from Assam, there 
are evident signs of improvement in that province. In Darjeeling 
there is at present some difficulty, but the labour question is even 
now less troublesome in this district than it has been at all times in 
Assam and Cachar. But while there seems every reason to hope that 
the industry is now entering on a period of prosperity and stability 
such as it has not hitherto experienced, it would be most unwise to 
shut our eyes to some unpleasant signs which seem, when read by the 
light of past experience, to indicate a recurrence to that spirit of 
speculation and want of foresight which so very nearly ruined tea 
planting in former years. 

In a report of the Directors of the Assam Company, under date 
16th December, 1841, they stated that : 

" The total quantity of land fully and partially cleared was 
1958 poorahs,* of which the quantity of native tea land cleared, 
and in actual production, was 780 poorahs. 

" The quantity of land contained in our grants was unknown, as 
the officers of Government had not yet been able to survey them, but 
of the whole, 25,774 poorahs was the quantity estimated as suitable 
for the cultivation of tea. 

" Of the 780 poorahs of native tea land above mentioned, the number 
of plants in a poorah was found to vary from 450 to 2400. The 
average number in a poorah was found to be 1660. 

" The average quantity of tea to be obtained from each plant at full 
produce was estimated at a quarter of a pound annually. 

" The total annual cost of cultivating one poorah, and converting 
its produce into tea, is estimated by the superintendents in Assam 
at 120 rupees, or 111. The superintendence in Assam, Calcutta, and 
London, packing, and every contingency, are estimated by the local 
directors at 100 rupees, or 101. per poorah. 

" Thus one poorah containing 1600 plants will produce 400 lbs. of 
tea, and the total annual charge will be 220 rupees, or 22Z. The 
value of 400 lbs. of tea, at 2s. a pound, will be 40Z., estimating the 
average value of black and green tea at that price (which, with 
reference to the actual, and probably improving, quality of the article, 
the Board consider that they have a right to assume as the average price 
for some years), and the gross profit per poorah would therefore be 
18/., so that the profit on 1000 poorahs would be 18,000Z. 

" In 1845, all the tea lands now actually producing will be yielding 
full produce." 

Now, let us compare the present condition of tea culture in Assam. 
The following gives the total area taken up in the province of 
♦ A poorah contains 52,900 square feet, or 1 y\ acre. 



92 



TEA. 



Assam at tlie end of 1874 for tea cultivation, under the following 
tenures, viz. : 

Acres. 

1. Under old Assam rules of 1854 177,981 

2. „ ordinary leases 45,384 

3. Purchased in lee-simple 172,828 

4. Under the old Assam rules, but since commuted to 

fee-simple 229,802 

625,995 



It was estimated that about 100,000 acres were under cultivation 
with tea, and the yield was 19,000,000 lbs., or only two and a half 
maunds per acre, which is a very small out-turn, even when the large 
area of immature plant is taken into consideration. 

A chest of tea varies in capacity from one to two maunds, but 
100 lbs. weight may be taken as the average. The exports from 
Cachar and Sylhet in 1874 amounted to 55,119 chests. 

The land taken up for tea cultivation in Cachar and Sylhet is about 
one-third of the tea land of the whole province of Assam ; the esti- 
mated aggregate out-tm*n would therefore, on the same basis as the 
Cachar and Sylhet shipments, come to about 17,000,000 lbs. 

Taking the value of tea in Calcutta to be Is. Sd. per lb. (which is 
the average during the last thirteen years), the tea produce would be 
worth 1,583,333/. 

Owing to the defective returns submitted to the Governments, it is 
impossible to give the average yield of the native plant, that is, of the 
trees upwards of two years old. It is probable, however, that this 
average is about 280 lbs. per acre. In highly cultivated and well- 
situated gardens the yield is said to be sometimes as much as 600 lbs., 
and even 800 lbs., or ten maimds, is said to have been plucked in one 
year on each acre in one garden. 

In 1874 there were employed in the gardens which submitted 
returns 86,744 laboui'ers, imported and native, of both sexes and of 
all ages. The area cultivated was 79,402 acres. Allowing a small 
margin for sickness, &c., this is only one labourer to the acre. One 
acre produces 196 lbs., and assuming that (as is generally the case) 
one-half of the labourers employed are adult males, a male labourer 
and his belongings may be considered to produce 392 lbs., worth say 
33/. per annum. 

The foregoing statistics prove that the tea industry is steadily 
developing. It may now be considered to be established on a fii-m 
basis.* 

Planters differ in their opinions of the kinds of soil most suited for 
the growth of tea ; but there can be no doubt that the virgin soil of the 
dense forests at the foot of the hills, where the cKmate is hot and 
moist, and where tea is often found indigenous, is the best. But tea 
will grow well in every district in Assam. 

The use of machinery is steadily increasing, the rolling on many 
large estates being thus performed. Several machines have been 

* India Office Report on the tea operations in the province of Assam, 1873-4, 
Assam Secretariat Press, 1876. 



TEA. 



93 



invented, and it is yet an undecided point which of them is the best. 
There are some one hundred and forty engines in the province, all of 
which have been imported within the last five years. The nominal 
horse-power of these engines is between 400 and 600. There are, 
however, drawbacks to the use of machinery — some real, some per- 
haps imaginary — which prevent its more frequent introduction. It 
is conceded that machinery makes a saving of from 50 to 60 per cent, 
in manual labour ; but there is still a considerable prejudice against 
machine-rolled tea. 

Another objection is certainly weighty, namely, that unless a very 
large quantity of leaf is brought in at one time, the employment of 
machinery is no saving at all. There is again an objection urged as 
to the dearth of qualified native artisans, to superintend the working 
and repair of machinery. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that a day 
will soon arrive when all labour-saving machinery will be called into 
use. 

Perhaps one of the most vital questions to the planters of the future 
is the fuel supply. At present all the " firing " operations are carried 
on by means of the charcoal obtained from the forest which is cleared 
for the tea ground, or which grows on those parts of the several grants 
which are not under cultivation. It is obvious that the destruction 
of timber must be enormous, and at no distant period it will have to 
be decided how to manufacture tea with cheaper fuel than charcoal. 
The invention of such a method would be a great boon. 

Tea cultivation is carried on in Kangra, Gurhwal, and Kamaun ; 
and in Assam, Cachar, Sylhet, Chittagong, Darjeeling, and Chota 
Nagpore. In Dehra Dun there are 11 tea gardens, in Kangra 21, in 
Kamaun 88 ; and there are no less than 47 tea companies. In Dar- 
jeeling there were 62 gardens in 1871-72, covering 12,305 acres ; and 
the out-turn of tea was 2,665,821 lbs. With a fair chance, Darjeeling 
tea could drive Chinese tea out of the markets of high Asia. Its 
growth in Sikkim employs 43 Europeans and 9493 natives. In 
Assam 31,303 acres were under cultivation, yielding 6,257,643 lbs. 
of tea; in Cachar 23,081 acres, with an out-turn in 1872 of 5,406,400 lbs. 
In Sylhet 21,408 acres, giving 4,641,659 lbs. 

In 1850 there was one tea estate — that of the Assam Company — 
with 1876 acres under cultivation, yielding 216,000 lbs. In 1870 
there were 295 proprietors of tea estates, with 31,303 acres under 
cultivation, yielding 6,251,143 lbs. of tea. In 1872-73 the area of 
land held by tea planters covered 804,582 acres ; of which about 
75,000 were under cultivation, yielding 14,670,171 lbs. of tea, the 
average yield per acre being 208 lbs., which is amply remunerative. 
In Kangra, the Punjab tea district, there are 28 plantations, including 
7732 acres, of which 3292 are planted. The average yield per acre 
is 130 lbs., and the crop of 1872 gave 428,655 lbs. of tea. In the 
Dehra Dun there are 7801 acres under tea cultivation, yielding 
411,548 lbs., and in Kamaun 1395, yielding 285,700 lbs. In Dehra 
Dun green tea is almost exclusively manufactured for the Kabuli mer- 
chants, who supply Central Asia, where only the green leaf is in 
demand. The trade is increasing, and the Central Asian demand has 
been a great advantage, as the planters now get at their very doors 



94 



TEA. 



the same average price as they before obtained in Calcutta, after 
incurring the risk and cost of the journey. 

In August, 1860, the Government of Madras addressed the Secre- 
tary of State, transmitting some copies of a useful and interesting 
report by Dr. Cleghorn, on the suitability of various places in that 
Presidency to the growth of the tea plant. Under the head of localities, 
Dr. Cleghorn includes the Shevaroy, Bababooden, Neilgherry, and 
Pulni hills ; Coorg ; Nundidroog (a hill in Mysore 4800 feet high); 
Curtallam, and Travancore. The tea plant, he thinks, appeai-s to 
prefer a climate probably of 67° to 70° mean temperature. Such 
is nearly the mean temperature of the hill sloj^es near Coonor, 
Kotergherry, and of many of the valleys in the eastern and northern 
slopes of the Pulni and Neilgherry hills, and also of the Baba- 
booden range in Mysore, and of Kudra Muka in South Canara. With 
reference to the hardiness of tea shrub, he says the cultivation 
extends over a great breadth of latitude (from the banks of the 
Rio Janeiro, 22^° south latitude, to the province of Shansing, 
in China, 36J° north latitude), and that, as we recede from the 
equator, the lower latitude compensates for the difference of alti- 
tude. The Chinese cultivate on the lower slopes of the hills, 
whilst in the North- West Provinces the cultm*e is carried on between 
2000 and 6000 feet. All that was necessary to secure a successful 
growth of tea in Southern India, in Dr. Cleghorn's opinion, was the 
aid of a few practised manipulators. 

In the official report on the progress and condition of India for 
the year ending April 1875 it is stated that — 

" The cultivation of tea is rapidly spreading in those districts 
of Bengal which are suited to the cultivation of the plant. The 
amount of the out-turn, though falling far short of the sanguine 
expectations of the first days of tea planting, is now amply remune- 
rative, and the prices obtained in the market show that the average 
quality is good. The industry is, indeed, in an infinitely better and 
safer position now than it was ten years ago. The cultivation has 
enormously extended, and the gardens are, as a rule, well filled with 
plants, highly cultivated, and carefully managed. 

" The native labourers are well treated by the European planters, 
and are generally contented ; the best of them come from Nepal, and 
bear a good character for industry and aptitude. 

" There were twenty-six new gardens opened in the Darjeeling 
district ; the increase of area under cultivation was 3193 acres, and 
the increase of out-turn was 971,201 lbs. The average yield of 
an acre was about 325 lbs.; in 1872 it was about 256 lbs. The 
average quality of the Darjeeling tea was inferior to that of some 
other districts, but it is believed that this fact has been recognised by 
many of the leading planters, and that improvement may be looked for. 

" The field for expansion of tea cultivation is stated to be inde- 
finitely large in the long tract at the foot of the Darjeeling Hills, 
and there is also still room for increase in the Chittagong Hills and in 
Chota Nagpore. No soil that has yet been explored appears to have 
proved better adapted for the growth of the tea plant than that of 
the Western Dooars. 



TEA. 95 

" In Madras the tea plant was introduced on the Neilgherry Hills 
about forty years ago, but it is only during recent years that any real 
progress has been made in the cultivation, which now covers nearly 
2000 acres. The China variety, with which the oldest estates are 
planted, is the most hardy, but grows slowly, and produces very little 
leaf ; the Assam variety, on the other hand, grows rapidly, and is a 
large producer of leaf, but it requires a sheltered situation on a rich 
fertile soil. The cross between the two is the most generally useful. 

" The private cultivation of tea in the North- West Provinces pro- 
gresses ; the out-turn for the season was 1,217,975 lbs." 

According to the latest returns we possess, there were in 1875 about 
488,000 acres of land under tea in India, viz. : 



Acres. 

Assam and Bengal 457,000 

North-Western Provinces 17,200 

Punjab 9,805 

Madras 3,640 



But these figures are not quite of recent date, and the extension of 
cultivation since they were obtained requires that some addition should 
be made to them. There are certainly not less than half a million 
acres under tea in India at the present date, and probably the area 
exceeds that figure. Of the tea produced in Assam and Bengal, the 
North-Western Provinces, and the Punjab, that portion which is meant 
for shipment is, with but slight exception, brought down to Calcutta, 
and shipped from that port almost entirely to England. 

The growth of the tea industry in India has been almost unex- 
ampled in the history of its trade. The following figures represent 
the value of the annual exports during the fourteen years that 
ended on the 30th April, 1875 ; and there is every reasonable prospect 
of a continued progress, which will ultimately give Indian tea a 
foremost place among the productions of the country : 





Quantity. 


Value. 




lbs. 


£ 


1861-62 


1,473,270 


130,283 


1862-63 


2,253,773 


178,128 


1863-64 


2,420,232 


220,282 


1864-65 


3,457,430 
2,758,187 


275,055 


1865-66 


275,055 


1866-67 


6,387,088 


340,572 


1867-68 


7,811,429 


686,928 


1868-69 


11,480,213 


951,376 


1869-70 


12,754,022 


1,037,883 


1870-71 


13,232,232 


1,120,517 


1871-72 


17,187,328 


1,454,985 


1872-73 


17,789,911 


1,577,691 


1873-74 


19,624,235 


1,742,926 
1,937,429 


1874-75 


21,137,087 



This growth is very astonishing. The economic effects of the 
industry have not yet, however, been as fully examined as they 
should be. The trade has expanded year by year without interrup- 



96 



TEA. 



tion, and it will no doubt continue to develop. Tea now constitutes 
one of the most prosperous industries of India.* 

This product is nearly all shipped from Calcutta, as the details of 
the last-named year's exports, 1874-5, will show : 

Lbs. 

Bengal 21,023,941 

British Burmah 5,905 

M;;dras 87,872 

Bombay 13,817 

Siud 6,052 

Total 21,137,087 



The total crop of India tea for 1875-6 was expected to reach about 
29,000,000 lbs. Tea companies which have never given a profit for 
years are now declaring an ad-interim dividend. Of the five tea 
districts, Darjeeling, Cachar, and Kumaon produce well.f 

The successful results of tea cultivation in India must be regarded 
under two points of view — 

1. The tea supply and tea demand in the world. 

2. The tea supply in India, and the demand for Indian as 
opposed to China and other similar teas, such as those from Japan 
and Java. 

First, then, of the tea supply and tea demand in the world. What 
is the present supply ? China stands at the head of the list. The 
exports from that country (for we are not concerned here with what 
is consumed within the empire) may be put down roughly as con- 
siderably over two hundred and fifty millions of pounds. India 
comes next ; the internal consumption is a mere bagatelle,' and the 
export may be stated at twenty-five millions. Perhaps a similar 
amount, viz. twenty-five millions (on this point we are open to cor- 
rection) will cover the exports from the other two places named. 
Assuming, then, China, at the outside, to export three hundred 
millions, we have a grand total of produce for the tea-drinking, but 
non tea-producing countries of three hundred and fifty millions of 
pounds. 

Of the above. Great Britain alone takes, in round numbers, nearly 
two hundred millions — that is, over one hundred and seventy millions 
from China, and rather over twenty-five millions from India. 

We have then only about one hundred and fifty millions left for all 
the other non-producing but tea-drinking countries. 

It is true that some of these cannot fairly be included as con- 
sumers of this said balance, notably Russia and a portion of many 
parts of Asia, to which tea is imported direct overland from China. 
Including the tea that goes to those countries (the China produce, by- 
the-by, is probably far in excess of the three hundred million pounds 
we have assumed, but correct figures on this head are not obtainable, 
nor do they here concern us), the fact remains that to supply all the 

* Statement of the Trade of British India. 

t A paper on " Tea Cultivation in India," by Mr. C. H. Fielder, is published in the 
* Journal of the Society of Arts,' 17, p. 291. 



TEA. 



97 



world with the exceptions above, to v/liich Great Britain is aflclecl, 
only about two hundred millions of pounds are available. 

When we consider, as already shown, that Great Britain alone con- 
sumes nearly one hundred and fifty millions, it is evident that two 
hundred millions is but a scant su^^ply for all outside her — America 
and Australia, both vast tea-drinking countries, with rapidly increas- 
ing populations. Victoria alone took for consumption, in 1875, 
5,915,316 lbs. for a population of 752,445. The duty there is only 
3d. per pound. Tasmania consumed, in 1875, 614,529 lbs. of tea for 
a population of 103,663. The duty on tea there is 6d. per lb. 
California consumes about 4,000,000 lbs. 

The continent of Europe will take more and more tea yearly, for 
the taste is fast being acquired. The same may be said of many 
parts of Asia, and if tea is ever drunk by the millions in India, then 
— but we need not speculate so far ahead. 

It is evident that, supposing the China supply to be a fixed figure 
which will not increase, any extension in India that now appears 
possible (the labour sets a limit to it) will not only not exceed the 
demand, but scarcely keep pace with it. 

Some have started the theory that new tea-producing countries will 
spring up and compete with India, notably large tracts in tropical 
America, which have suitable climates, but I think the fear is 
groundless. Two conditions are necessary for a tea-producing 
country— a good tea climate, which is more or less rare, and good and 
cheap labour'. These China and India have, the latter in perfection 
in many parts ; but outside these two, to which add Java and Japan 
(the latter fails in cheap labour), what country possesses the said 
two requisites ? 

Tea Planting in Cacliar. — The tea plants while young are liable to 
various mishaps, from the dryness of the weather, from insects, from 
wild animals, deer, pigs, buffaloes, which abound in the place, and 
from the want of efficient labour. A piece of tea land of 100 acres 
seems a small quantity, but in Cachar, except in very favourable 
situations, it extends to nearly a mile in length over small hills and 
valleys. The proper superintendence of 500 acres of such land is 
beyond the power of a single individual ; consequently a great deal 
must be left to the care of native servants, and such, skilled in tea 
cultivation, cannot be found in the district, except a few who may 
stray from Assam, and even they find so great a difference in the 
aspect of the tea lands between these two parts of the country that 
their former experience is of little use to them. The Assam planta- 
tions, I am given to understand, are generally on level or gently 
inclining lands, whereas the Cachar ones are on teelahs and their 
slopes, not adapted to retain moisture. Under these circumstances 
there is no wonder that there should be failures and disappointments. 

If the cultivation advanced by degrees, say 50 acres per annum in 
the beginning, the result would be more satisfactory and the planters 
would gain experience. If the plants could be carefully attended to 
for the first two years, they would acquire a firm hold of the ground, 
and need very little attention afterwards, except in keeping the 
ground clear of weeds and jungle. The expectation of making 

H 



98 



TEA. 



large plantations with quick returns will, I am afraid, terminate in 
disappointment. 

The cultivation of tea in the beginning is not an easy affair. It 
must be attended with considerable expense, especially on land just 
reclaimed from a state of nature, which is very difficult of being 
kept free from rank vegetation, except under dense shade. Estimates 
may be made, but the actual expense of a certain portion of land 
cannot be ascertained beforehand, unless the seed sown produces a 
plant at every stake. I am given to understand that the Assam Tea 
Company spent twenty-four lakhs of rupees (240,000Z.) before receiving 
any return, and that after a period of fifteen years. 

The art of cultivating tea in Cachar is only in its infancy. 
Various methods are proposed, but the severe drought of the two last 
seasons has put it out of the power of the planters to judge of the 
best plan. Irrigating teelah lands is out of the question, as water 
is not always at hand. The former plan of clearing the land of all 
forest trees is now abandoned ; only the underwood is cut, the ground 
hoed, staked, and the seed sown. This method will afford shade, 
and j)i'otect the young plants from the parching nature of the soil. 
In the third year the plants must be topped to make them grow into 
bushes, and the shade removed to allow the rays of the sun to act on 
the plants and make them produce leaves. This is to be done by 
ringing the timber trees shortly after the seed is sown, and removing 
the withered trees at leisure. This plan is to all appearance the best 
yet adopted. 

The great demand for tea seed to carry on large and extended cul- 
tivations has already enhanced its price 400 per cent. There are now 
at this moment eleven companies engaged in tea cultivation in 
Cachar, and all cannot procure the seed they require, except perhaj)s 
those intimately connected with the Assam planters. It is to be 
observed that tea seed ought to be obtained fresh, and packed in 
moist earth at the place where it is procurable, and forwarded with 
as little delay as possible to ensure its germination. 

The difficulty of procuring labour for a tea garden will be soon 
seriously felt, especially dmdng the rains, from the extension of tea 
cultivation and raising recruits in the district for the army. In the 
cold weather the natives of the cultivated parts of Cachar, Sylhet, and 
Jynteeah, readily take service for a short time, but at other seasons, 
when they have their own cultivation to attend to, they are not easily 
procurable. Before a cooly enters a tea garden he receives an advance 
of a rupee (2s.), or wages for ten days ; as soon as this j)eriod expires, 
he goes away or engages for another ten days, but seldom remains 
above a month or two. In order to procure this labour, there are men 
called Duffadars, whose business is to receive advances from the planters 
and bring in the men from the villages, for which service they receive 
a fee of one-twelfth of an anna, or half a farthing per day per man. 
Under tbis system the man is careless at his work, and under no 
responsibility for the efficient discharge of it, and takes no interest 
in learning the business of a tea-garden malee ; for should he be 
reprehended for any negligence, he immediately quits the garden, 
and is sure to find employment in another, from the great demand 
there is for labour at present. 



TEA. 



99 



Some grants have an advantage over others in having a larger 
quantity of indigenous tea. These had the first choice and took in 
large tracts . of land, retaining those portions of it where the in- 
digenous plants were the most abundant, and these they cut down 
to form leaf-bearing bushes, thus depriving themselves of seed, which, 
would be of great value from its freshness, to carry on future exten- 
sions. The success of a cultivation must depend on the plants raised 
from seed, for the indigenous trees are so scattered that the labour of 
picking the leaves and manufacturing tea will hardly be compensated 
by the value of it. 

There are three or four species of tea plants, the Cbina, tlie 
Kumaon, the hybrid, and the indigenous, all of which may grow 
in Cacbar under proper treatment ; but that which will be the most 
remunerative is still to be ascertained, for no plantation here has had 
sufficient experience. In Assam the indigenous is found to answer 
best in this respect, from its forming the largest bush, and yielding in 
consequence more leaves, but the quality of the tea is said to be coarse, 
not equal to the fine China. The indigenous, although it may grow 
spontaneously in the impenetrable jungles of Cachar, is the most 
difficult to be managed under the hand of man, from a want of the 
knowledge of its physiology. The year before last the planters 
removed several lakhs of plants from the jungles into their lands, 
all or most of which perished from the want of shade and moisture, 
and injury done to the roots by the carelessness of the labourers 
employed. 

It is almost certain that tea will not grow in Cachar in exposed 
situations, especially the indigenous kind, with such dry weather as 
was experienced the last two years, without considerable expense of 
watering the young plants ; therefore those who had the misfortune 
of having lands cleared either by themselves or the Kookies have 
allowed jungle trees to grow on them again for shade, after losing 
almost all their plants. This is indeed very discouraging, and it has 
induced some to throw up their former cultivation and select virgin 
forests, but such lands can only be procured in the interior, where 
labour is difficult to be had. 

Lands near villages are not virgin forest, they have been cultivated 
by the Kookies in various parts, which renders the labour of culti- 
vating tea on such lands very expensive, by their requiring continual 
weeding, shading, and watering the plants while young during the 
dry weather. It was thought in the beginning that lands so cleared 
would be an advantage, at least in saving the expense of cutting down 
large trees, but the dry weather experienced the last two years has 
shown this to be a mistake. 

From the foregoing remarks an idea may be formed of the diffi- 
culties attending the cultivation of tea in Cachar, but the abundance 
of the indigenous tea found scattered in every piece of high land, 
which would be much more plentiful if the Kookies in their system of 
cultivation did not destroy a great part of it, shows that the plant can 
be profitably reared, and the failures hitherto are mainly owing to the 
want of attention to the nature of the plant, which requires shade and 
moisture in its infancy for two or three years, when it takes a firm 
hold of the ground, and nothing will destroy it. 

H 2 



100 



TEA. 



A tea plantation conducted with caution and economy, and the 
ground gradually filled with plants, must become a valuable piece of 
property, highly remunerative to the proprietor, as there is very little 
expense afterwards, except in gathering leaves and manufacturing tea 
for six months in the year. The former operation, which is a light 
labour, can be performed by women and children at a small cost, and 
there is a disposition at present on the part of the natives to settle 
near tea gardens, to which they can be attracted with a little encourage- 
ment ; thus the want of labour at present experienced will be removed 
in time. 

Sihliim. — The first impression one gets on going through the Sikhim 
tea gardens is that the cultivation as a rule is carelessly and wastefuUy 
conducted, and that an attempt has been made rather to get a large 
area planted, than to have a small compact plantation with every 
bush yielding a maximum quantity of leaf. During the rains, there 
are on many of the estates more weeds than tea, and these weeds not 
only occupy ground which tea ought to occupy, but cost a heavy 
outlay to root out or cut down, and they look bad. We admit, 
however, that there are many gardens, in the Terai especially, below 
Punkabari, which could hardly be improved ; and here, where the 
ground is level, a horse hoe, we believe, would be far cheaper and 
more effective in cleaning the ground than the regiments of coolies 
now employed. A hoe, such as is used for turnii)s at home, capable 
of being widened or narrowed by a hinge in front, and with three 
wheels, one in front and two behind, to allow of the depth to which 
its teeth penetrate being regulated, would, we believe, answer 
admirably. The distance between the plants varies on almost every 
estate, but the best and most recently planted grounds have the tea 
plants much closer together than on the old plantations. Tea hedges 
3 feet aj)art, with 1 to 2 feet behind the plants in the row, is, we 
believe, about the best distance. 

As the plucking of the leaf has to be done by coolies, these hedges 
are not cut into any regular shape, but are, as a rule, flat-topped. 
We think this is a mistake, for it exposes the smallest surface to air 
and light; and the centre of the flat upper surface of each bush being 
nearer the root than the sides, the plants, we should think, must 
"flush" irregularly. The hedges should be clipped into a semi- 
circular form, or as two sides of an equilateral triangle. It would be 
interesting to know how much green leaf a tea plant of say six years 
and of a particular size can be made to yield without excessive pluck- 
ing. It is said that nineteen maunds per acre have been got from a 
small area, and at 3 feet by This gives only 2^ ounces to each 
bush, which is not a very large amount of leaf, seeing that each plant 
has a surface of at least 3 square feet ; but nine maunds of tea jDcr acre 
is considered a very fair amount, which, allowing only half the number 
of bushes per acre, as at 3 by 3 feet apart, is about the same yield per 
bush, or 2 J ounces. If a bush can be made to yield this amount, when 
growing at 3 by IJ feet, then the area of which a quarter is now 
covered with straggling bushes 4 or even 6 feet apart, might yield 
more than it does at present. 

The greatest drawback to the improvement of the cultivation is, 



TEA. 



101 



that it is in the hands of joint-stock companies, with but one object, 
to see their shares stand high in the market. A number of small 
estates managed by the proprietors would yield very much more tea 
from the same area ; and the cultivation would improve more rapidly. 
On the present plantations, owing to their large area and the bushes 
being too scattered, much manuring or high cultivation is out of the 
question. It takes all the attention of the manager to keep down 
weeds. Taking the yield per plant at a very moderate estimate, ten 
maunds of tea ought to be got from each acre, allowing about two 
ounces per plant. A hundred acres of tea at this rate would give 
about 50,000 rupees (5000Z;), allowing only 8 annas (Is.) per lb. ; 
and the expenses of very high cultivation and the manufacture of 
the tea could not at the outside cost half this sum. 

Experiments are much wanted to test the comparative values of 
different varieties of the plant. On walking through a large planta- 
tion, one cannot fail to be struck with the very great diversity of leaf, 
vigour, &c. Some plants have large soft leaves, others shoot small 
hard leaves ; some seem to flush twice as well as others ; and if a 
careful selection of plants were made from which to preserve seed, 
a very superior plant might be obtained. Such experiments would no 
doubt be made if the tea gardens were owned by the managers, and 
were in a state of very high cultivation. Hybridising has been tried, 
and plants are now grown which are said to be hybrids ; but very 
much more might be done in this direction in crossing the Assam with 
the China plant, and in crossing superior varieties. 

The object of the Indian Government in establishing tea plantations 
in Kumaon and Gurhwal was to demonstrate by practical experiment 
that the hills in those provinces were adapted by soil and climate for 
the cultivation of the plant, and that the manufacture of it would 
yield a very substantial mercantile return. The experiments suc- 
ceeded, under the able management of Dr. Jamieson, beyond all 
expectation. The plantation of Paoree, which four years previous 
was a mere rhododendron jungle, in 1855 had 350,000 plants yielding 
tea, and 500,000 seedlings. The yield in 1854 was about 34,000 lbs. 
of tea, on a plantation of less than 200 acres ; and the returns in 1855 
was 5000 lbs. The Kaologir plantation (North- West Province) 
yielded 4112 lbs. in 1854, and 10,000 lbs. in 1855, the yield being 
at the rate of 70 lbs. per acre. There were 390 acres under culture, 
but not all bearing. 

In the Dehra Doon the progress has been even more remarkable. 

As the tea lands in the Kangra valley yield from 200 to 300 lbs. of 
prepared tea per acre, while the expenses of culture are very small, 
the profit to be earned by judicious tea cultivation must be very 
great. 

Nagrota, the first plantation started, is of insignificant dimensions, 
merely a small garden plot in fact, about eight miles north-east of 
Kangra. Bhawarna, situated about ten miles farther on, is not much 
larger. Holta lies about four miles farther, immediately at the foot 
of the Himalayas, about twenty miles south-east from the Sanitarium of 
Dhurmsala, and equidistant from Kangra. Holta has an elevation of 
between 4000 and 5000 feet above the sea. It has a truly delightful 



102 



TEA. 



climate, which bears a strong resemblance to that of Kashmere. The 
Holta plain is several square miles in extent; and so much of it 
as is available is being rapidly brought imder tea cultivation by 
Dr. Jamieson. The soil appears admii'ably adapted for tea, as well 
indeed as for almost any kind of crop ; and both Dr. Jamieson and 
the Chinese consider that if any preference is to be given, it is the 
most eligible for tea purposes of any part of the sub-Himalayas. 

Tea Cultivation in the Funjab. — About 1850 a lakh of rupees 
(lOjOOOZ.) was granted by the Government for the promotion of tea 
cultivation in the Dehra Doon, and in the course of five or six years 
the plantations were found extending in all directions, and the tea 
plant was thriving over foui' and a half degrees of latitude and 
eight of longitude, or an area of 30,000 square miles — about one- 
fifteenth of the whole area of British India. Of coiu-se this is not 
exclusively devoted to tea culture, but in districts throughout the 
whole space the plant has been gTown with advantage. There are 
now about 40,000 acres imder culture in the Punjab. In Kumaon 
some of the plantations have long been yielding twelve maunds of 
raw leaves per acre. 

The tea industry in Chittagong is rapidly progressing, and some 
experiments on a limited scale have lately been made v^ith coffee cul- 
tivation, which have proved successful. The total out-turn of tea from 
the division during the official year 1875-76 is estimated at 431,554 lbs. 
It is said that tea cultivation has already attracted the attention of 
the natives of the i^lace, and that a few small gardens have already 
been opened by some of the neighbouring zemindars. In 1871-72 the 
value of tea exported from Chittagong was 25,214/. ; in 1875-76 the 
value was 47,9 08Z. 

The following suggestions are from a communication received 
from Mr. James McPherson, as the result of his own observations 
in India : 

" There are two ^-ery well-marked varieties of the tea plant, if 
indeed they are not sufficiently distinct to be ranked as species. These 
are Tliea Assamica and Thea Cliinensis (syn. viride). The first of 
these is the one with which western peoj)le became last acquainted, 
and it occupies a somewhat different position, naturally, to that in 
which the Chinese plant is usually found, if indeed the Chinese plant 
has even been seen in other than a state of cultivation. The varied 
conditions in which the two kinds, with their innumerable varieties, 
are found, may sufficiently account for the difterence in their appear- 
ance. Thea Assamica, the Indian species, is usually foimd growing 
wild (and able to reproduce itself from seed) along the margins of the 
Assam forests, frequently manifesting a jDartiality for the banks of 
streams. The climate of Assam is tropical, and, in ports, very moist, 
and frost is almost unkno^Ti in its tea gardens, while the average 
temperature is about 70° and the rainfall about 80 inches. The 
tea, like the wheat plant or the vine, has, however, a remarkable 
adaptation to a very great range of climate, and I have known tea 
grown with perfect success where the mean annual temperature was 
only 68° Fahr. and the rainfall from 30 to 50 inches. Perha]3s it will 
reach its greatest perfection where the mean annual temperature 



TEA. 



103 



ranges from 60° to 55° Fahr. and where the rainfall, or what is 
quite as important, the humidity of the atmosphere, is considerable 
during the growing season, which in northern latitudes usually begins 
in March. Considerable heat, and foggy, cloudy weather, constitute 
what is known as a ' fine growing time ' for the tea plant. Moisture 
in the air, rather than moisture in the ground, seems to be requisite. 
Situations which are exposed to severe frost should be avoided, since 
it will entail too much labour to protect the yovrng plants." 

Ceylon. — On the higher mountain regions of Ceylon tea culture has 
advanced, rapidly within the last few years, and the planters have 
begun to send supplies to the British market, for our imports of tea 
from the island were in 



In 1872 there were but 10 acres under culture with tea, in 1875 
this acreage had increased to 108 acres. 

An experienced planter thus touches upon the prospects of tea cul- 
tivation in Ceylon : 

" In Eastern Bengal, in the North-Western Himalayas, and on the 
Neilgherries, the tea plant is successfully cultivated, but there is not 
the slightest similarity of climate between these three districts, and 
their soils are for the most part markedly different. It beoomes 
apparent therefore to anyone possessed of the slightest knowledge 
of horticulture, that a system of culture which might be found 
admirable on the cold slopes of the Western Himalayas, would not 
be found to answer in the hot moist jungles of Assam or Cachar, and 
that the climate of the hill districts of Southern India and Ceylon, 
which are, as it were, a medium between the extremes of the other two, 
will require yet another change in the mode of treatment of the tea 
plant. 

" When we come to think of the almost total similarity of the 
Neilgherries and Ceylon in all leading points, viz. latitude, climate, 
annual rainfall, and general character of the soils, we may reasonably 
conclude that the systems of culture which are the most successful in 
the Neilgherries will also be found those most efficacious in the sister 
district of Ceylon. We need only read one of the share lists of the 
Bengal companies to see how highly remunerative an investment tea 
may be made under proper management, and there are, besides these, 
many hundreds of private gardens whose returns are much greater, 
but of which the outside public receives no information. Tea cultiva- 
tion is free from nearly all the dangers and risks attendant on coffee 
planting. It possesses, too, the advantages of growing at higher 
elevations, and consequently affording to the planter a better climate 
to live in, while it may be made to pay well on soils which are utterly 
unsuited to coffee cultivation. The demand for Indian tea is rapidly 
increasing in London, the colonies, and America ; and I doubt not the 
time is fast approacbing when China produce will be driven out of 
the market. The superior strength, flavour, and purity of the Indian 
growths are gaining ground every day, and from the ease and economy 
with which teas can be cultivated, even by very small capitalists, it is 



1874 
1875 



Lbs. 
484,135 
159,592 



104 



TEA. 



hard to find, under proper management, a safer or more remunerative 
investment for capital. 

" The systems of cultivation and manufacture now practised are far 
in advance of those which prevailed some ten years ago. Higher 
cultivation, a thorough knowledge of the principles of manufacture 
and of the chemical changes through which the leaf passes during the 
various processes, and last, but not least, the invention of mechanical 
appliances to save labour, have lightened by a great deal the planter's 
toil, diminished his expenditure, and added to his profits. 

" There must be some hundred thousands of acres of land in Ceylon 
which might be planted with tea to the profit alike of the planter 
and the country. That with high cultivation and judicious manage- 
ment this land might be made to yield with ease its 400 lbs. an acre, 
and that the tea, if well manufactured, will not fail to realise an ad- 
vantage of upwards of 2s. per pound in London. As the cost of up- 
keep, &c., should not, under any circumstances, exceed lOZ. per acre, 
a ready profit of 30Z. sterling will accrue from every acre of land in 
full bearing.* 

" A good selection as regards site, soil, and climate is all-important 
to any man who contemplates opening out an estate, and on this 
account stands at the head of the subjects to be treated of. To these, 
however, I shall add the supplementary and equally important ques- 
tions of rainfall, labour, and communications. 

" Absolute perfection in all points cannot be expected, but each of 
the qualifications pointed out must be developed to a certain extent 
before the site can be pronounced a suitable one for a tea estate. 
The headings therefore into which these chapters will be divided are : 
1. Lay of land, climate, elevation, and aspect; 2. Eainfall; 3. Soil ; 
4. Labour ; and 6. Communication." 

Lay of Land, Climate, Elevation, and Aspect. — The first point that 
calls for notice is lay of land. Low undulating hill-sides form by 
far the best site for a tea estate ; land, in fact, where the incline is 
just sufficient to carry off the water during heavy falls, without 
washing away the soil, and yet not so flat as to allow the water to 
collect and stagnate anywhere. Draining will, of course, be neces- 
sary, in a greater or less degree, on every estate, but a little fore- 
thought shown in the selection of site will reduce this item of 
expenditure to a minimum. At the same time, we would not reject 
a piece of land that was suitable in all other respects, on the score 
of a slightly excessive slope, as by additional drains in some places 
and by terracing in others, this fault may be easily overcome. Per- 
fectly flat lands may often be made available for cultivation by such 
draining. The site of a tea estate should, if possible, be naturally 
sheltered from the effects of prevailing high winds. If natural 
shelter cannot be had, artificial means must be resorted to, such as 
laying out a belt of quick-growing trees all round, and in many cases 
here and there across the area of land intended for cultivation. 
Australian eucalypti and occasionally the larger kinds of cinchona are 

* Making a lai-ge deduction from the figures here giveu, the profits are likely to 
be satisfactory. Ceylon tea, with but imperfect means of preparation available, has 
already been valued at 2s. 6c?. 



TEA 



105 



among the best trees that can be used for this purpose, and will soon 
afford sufficient shelter. The general question of the Australian and 
indigenous timber trees that may be grown with advantage on tea estates 
will be considered in a subsequent chapter. Tea suffers as much, if 
not more, from rough winds, than it does from extremes of heat and 
cold. Experience in the Neilgherries has taught me the great im- 
portance of shelter from strong winds, and I know of one or two 
gardens whose yield would be doubled if they only possessed belts of 
trees to shield them from the violence of the wind during the storm 
season. Valleys that take the form of a shallow cup or bason, offer 
the most favourable site for the formation of a tea estate ; a plentiful 
supply of water, too, is no mean consideration. Every site should 
have a spring or stream of water rising high up, and capable of being 
diverted from thence to any other part of the estate ; it may be utilised 
for household purposes, turning machinery, to supply the nurseries, 
and in time of severe drought for irrigation purposes. There should 
always be in some central situation a flat of a few acres, on which the 
manager's house and factory may be built. The further considera- 
tion, however, of these matters will be left for another chapter ; I will 
now pass on to the question of climate. 

Climate. — The climate in which tea grows best is that which is 
warm, moist, and equable throughout the year; where the weather 
presents, in fact, a succession of alternate showers and sunshine. 
Excessive downpours of rain, though doubtfully beneficial, are better 
than dry, hot seasons. The effects of either, however, will depend 
much on the elevation of the estate. Our first statement is proved 
by the luxuriant growth of the plant in Assam and the other districts 
of Eastern Bengal. These show a result far ahead of any that can 
be obtained in the tea districts of China. The plant, however, is 
one of the hardiest in cultivation, and capable of enduring great 
extremes of heat and cold, the effects of which are merely to tempo- 
rarily check its growth, and diminish its yield, seldom killing it out- 
right. The cultivation of tea is confined to the hilly districts of 
India. The reasons for this are chiefly — 1. That the soils of the low 
country are not suited for tea cultivation ; 2. That the sun's rays are 
tempered to a great extent on the hills; 3. That there is a more 
liberal and regular supply of rain. To sum up : the climate best 
adapted for tea cultivation is one like that of Assam, where the 
thermometer seldom ranges higher than 96° in the hottest season 
daring the day, or goes down below 56° at night ; where, too, 
there is a rainfall of from 100 to 120 inches, equally distributed 
throughout all the months of the year. Unfortunately, the climate 
which is most congenial to the tea plant is that which is the 
least so to the planter, and on this account many (more especially 
those who are working gardens on their own account) are content with 
smaller returns in a pleasant and healthy climate. I shall now take 
a brief notice of the several tea districts of India, noticing the 
growth, condition, and yield of the plants in the different climates 
and at different elevations. The climates of Assam, Cachar, and 
Chittagong are so similar in all respects, and so comparatively well 
known, as to render unnecessary a special notice of them ; but I may 



106 



TEA. 



make one observation, viz. that tlie hot season in Chittagong is 
occasionally accompanied by so little rain as to cause great mortality 
among the young plants, and to affect more or less the yield of older 
ones. In all these districts tea is cultivated from a very little above 
sea-level, up to an elevation of 2500 feet, or even more ; and within 
this range there is not, I think, any appreciable variation of climate. 
At Darjeeliug the tea plant is cultivated up to an elevation of 6000 
feet. The rainfall here, though ample, is slightly less than that of 
the above-mentioned districts. The plant will grow, as I have said, 
at as high an elevation as 6000 feet, but, for anything like profitable 
cultivation, 3500 feet is, in my opinion, the outside safe limit. The 
higher up you go, the more highly you must cultivate ; it follows, 
therefore, that the planter will get a better return for his money at 
the lower elevations.* The remaining hill districts in the north- 
west are the Kangra valley, Dehra Doon, Kumaon, Gurwhal, &c. 
What I have said about Darjeeling applies in a great measure to these 
also, i. e. success will very much depend upon the elevation, and the 
warmth and moisture of the climate. In Southern India, though 
practical tea planting is of very recent date, the plant is grown upon 
the Neilgherry, Anna Mulley, and Pulney hills ; also, I believe, in 
Travancore ; and at suitable elevations grows far better than in the 
hill districts of Bengal. In the Neilgherries, owing partly to 
latitude, and partly to the less liberal allowance of rain, tea is grown 
at higher elevations than would be advisable in Bengal. The rainfall 
varies between 60 and 80 inches, but it is most evenly distributed 
throughout the months of the year. The best elevation here is 
between 4800 and 5600 feet. Lower down than this the sun's rays 
take too powerful an effect during the dry season, while above 6000 
feet, excepting a few well-sheltered localities, the wind is excessive. 
I have, however, seen tea cultivated at an elevation of over 7000 
feet. The plants in this case were tolerably healthy, but, owing to 
cold, grew very slowly, and yielded but little leaf. On the Anna 
Mullay hills and Travancore, I think they might prove even better 
districts than the Neilgherries. The plants suffer from want of rain 
during the hot season — a very serious drawback in these low alti- 
tudes. From the foregoing remarks it will be seen that the yield is 
greatest in Eastern Bengal ; but, at the same time, with high culti- 
vation a very good return may be made at higher elevations, when 
the thermometer by day ranges between 62° and 75° ; and the rain- 
fall does not fall short of 60 inches. Under these circumstances, 
however, a higher system of cultivation must be adopted. It is 
for the planter himself to decide whether or no he will content him- 
self with smaller returns, and live and work in a good climate ; or 
make as much as he can in a short time at the risk of his health — 
nay, of his life also. To sum up : in Bengal I would not recom- 
mend the opening out of an estate at a higher elevation than 
3500 feet above sea-level, while in Southern India I consider 5000 
feet about the right elevation. If equally distributed throughout the 

* The mountains of Ceylon, being only about 7° from the equator, I believe that 
tea, when fairly well sheltered from wind, will grow well there at 5000 feet, and 
even at a higher altitude. 



TEA. 



107 



year, 60 inches of rain may suffice, but the most favourable rainfall is 
from 80 up to 100 inches. With regard to Ceylon, what I have said 
regarding the Neilgherries will hold good there — excepting that 
owing to Ceylon being several degrees of latitude lower, tea might be 
found to grow well up to over COOO feet. 

As])ect. — Some planters think aspect an all-important consideration, 
and, in many cases, give apparently good reasons for doing so. Thus 
one side of a hill may be almost denuded of vegetation, and, conse- 
quently, get less rainfall than the other side which is more abun- 
dantly wooded. When the monsoon is very heavy, an aspect exposed 
to all its violence should be avoided ; though in some cases the land 
may be sheltered by either leaving protecting belts of the forest or 
growing Australian or other quick-growing trees for this purpose. In 
Southern India, a northern aspect is considered by many a sine qua 
non, on account of the sun's southerly declination during the dry 
months of the year ; and Mr. Mclvor, for one, lays great stress upon 
this point. In my own opinion, aspect is a question of slight impor- 
tance in warm, sheltered, and moist situations, such as I would select 
for opening out a tea estate. I have now tea growing here on all 
aspects, and have noticed nothing that warrants my judging any one 
of these better than another. If the planter has a warm, moist, 
agreeable climate, a site well sheltered from rough winds, a good lay 
of land, and a fair soil, he need not care much about aspect, and it will 
be his own fault if he cannot get 400 lbs. of made tea per acre vv^hen 
his estate is in full bearing. As a rule, the suitability of a site for a 
plantation may very generally be determined from the nature and 
appearance of the vegetation growing on it. Heavy forest or luxu- 
riant scrub land is generally well watered. Wherever ferns grow 
luxuriantly, one may feel certain there is good soil and abundance of 
moisture. 

Soil. — On this point there have been diversities of opinion : some 
men say that tea will grow in any soil ; others, that it will only grow 
in the soil of the richest virgin forests. Both parties are in error. 
The former are right as regards the growing ; but the very highest 
cultivation will be needed to make tea pay, if grown in a poor soil. 
On the other hand, the richest soil may, if in too cold a climate, 
or in an unsheltered situation, turn out a failure. My own opinion 
is, that the soil should at any rate be of moderate excellence, the other 
above-mentioned qualifications of a site being present. The improve- 
ment of the soil lies very much in the planter's own hands ; whereas 
he is powerless to remedy the defects of climate, rainfall, &c. The 
soil most suited for the cultivation of the tea plant is a light, rich, 
friable loam, extending to a depth of at least IJ or 2 feet, vvdth a 
good upper surface of decayed vegetable mould or humus. The 
latter contains in itself a sufficient supply of organic matter to 
last for the first five years of an estate's existence. In all cases, 
there must be a good supply of organic matter in the soil, and 
when this does not exist, the want must be supplied by manui'ing. 
The nature of the soils of the several districts varies considerably. 
In Eastern Bengal the soils contain a very large percentage of sand; 
so much so, in fact, that were it not for the abundant rainfall, the 



108 



TEA. 



plants would be burnt up by the sun. The vegetable or organic 
matter contained in these soils is also subject to a good deal of 
variation. The soils of the Himalayas are much richer in organic 
matter, and contain stone or slate to a greater extent. These also, as 
they contain a certain amount of clay, form a more tenacious soil, less 
liable to wash away, but apt to cake in dry weather ; and whenever 
this caking extends below the surface of the soil, the roots of the 
plant will suffer. Moderate cohesion at the surface is desirable, 
as by this means an abundant supply of moisture is preserved un- 
derneath. Perhaps, as far as soil is concerned, some of the Hima- 
layan soils are the richest of all the tea districts of India. In 
Southern India the soils are, in suitable localities, richer than those 
of Eastern Bengal, but slightly less so than the best Himalayan 
soils. The sui-face soil is a fine rich loam, sometimes more than 
four feet deep, varying in colour from a yellowish ochre to a rich 
deep chocolate. In some cases a good deal of stone is mixed up 
with the soil, but on this point I shall have occasion to speak 
hereafter. In these remarks on the soils of the various districts, 
it is not intended to assert that the soils all over the districts men- 
tioned are of this nature, but only those lands which are adapted 
for tea cultivation. Before entering upon the subject of soils to 
be avoided, a few remarks will be necessary regarding subsoils. 
I consider the latter entitled to quite as much consideration as the 
surface soils. The best subsoil for tea is a reddish and slightly 
ferruginous clayey gravel. The tap-roots are able to penetrate this 
to any depth, in search of moisture. The presence of stone in a sub- 
soil is not injurious, unless it is present in the form of slabs or 
large boulders. In this latter case the tap-root is unable to clear 
the obstacle, and the plant dies. In Bengal a subsoil composed of 
sand with a slight admixture of clay is a very good one. The clay 
retains moisture, while the sand causes filtration, and does not 
allow any water to stagnate round the roots of the plants, in which 
case they would soon rot. Clay by itself is too stiff and retentive, 
while sand, on the other hand, is too porous, and renders it necessary 
for the roots to penetrate to a very great depth before they can 
reach moisture. The chief points therefore that are required in a 
subsoil are: 1. That it should retain a sufiicient supply of flowing 
moisture for the support of the roots of the plant ; 2. That the 
moisture so retained should never stagnate ; 3. It should be so free 
that the tap-root can penetrate it easily ; 4. That it should contain no 
injurious quantity of mineral oxides. It is a generally received 
opinion that all tea soils should be slightly ferruginous, that is, that 
they should possess to a certain extent that reddish appearance which 
always betrays tbe presence of iron in a soil. If this is not apj^arent 
on the surface, it should, I think, at any rate, be perceptible in the 
subsoil. There is one peculiarity common to the soils of all the 
tea districts, which is the very slight percentage of lime contained 
in them. The percentage of lime is by far highest in the Chitta- 
gong soils. This peculiarity does not exist in India only, but 
extends to the soil of the tea districts in China also. The exist- 
ence of lime in a soil does not seem so necessary to the tea plant 



TEA. 



109 



as it is to most other forms of vegetation. Now to consider the 
question of stony soils. Many are of opinion that the presence of 
stone in a soil is not desirable ; but past experience, both of soils 
that were very stony, and of soils almost free from stone, has led me 
to think differently. Light soils, free from stone, are certainly 
more easy to work, but then they are more liable to wash. In clayey 
soils, stones assist filtration. Stone, unless present in large masses, 
is, in my opinion, no disadvantage to soil. Moreover, granitic gneiss, 
felspar, quartz, &c., when undergoing decomposition under the mecha- 
nical influence of sun and rain, supply a valuable inorganic manure. 
Under every stone there is a constant and never-failing supply of 
moisture ; stones absorb heat during the day and give it out at night, 
thus rendering the temperature in their immediate neighbourhood 
more equable. They prevent^ wash, and retain large quantities of 
rich soil in their crevices, which latter would otherwise be lost. It is 
only when the tap-roots strike upon a large stone that any injury 
results. If a soil is too sandy, an admixture of clay and cattle manure 
will remedy the defect. This may frequently be effected by turning 
up a portion of the subsoil. If too clayey, burning and subsequently 
mixing wood ashes with the soil will be a good remedy. If deficient 
in humus, organic manures must be applied. There are certain soils 
especially to be avoided by the planter. These are — 1. Peaty soils ; 
2. Strong heavy clays ; 3. Soils composed almost entirely of sand ; 
4. Sour grass lands. 

Labour. — There are two classes of labour generally employed on 
tea estates, viz. local and imported. If a sufficient supply of labour 
can be obtained, a great saving will be effected to the planter during 
the first five years ; and whenever he can he should keep this point in 
view. Such labour is, as a rule, cheaper ; there is no expense in 
procuring it, no necessity for bringing grain for the men, while the 
expense of hospitals and lines, medical attendance, &c., is saved. 
This labour is, however, apt to become very independent ; and there- 
fore it is always as well to have a certain staff of imported men to fall 
back uj)on in case of strikes, &c. 

Communication. — Koadmaking is an expensive business, and ought 
to be kept within bounds ; water communication is by far the best and 
cheapest, but not often procurable. When this cannot be obtained, 
you must select land within moderate distance of a Government road. 
If the tea has to be carried any distance by men or carts, carriage 
will form a very heavy item in your estate expenditure ; as it will also 
in the case of tools, supplies, &c., that have to come from a distance. 
The value of a property, therefore, is much enhanced by its bordering 
on a navigable river, or having a good road near at hand. 

On the Laying-out of a Tea Estate. — Considerable judgment is 
required in the selection of that part of a property which is to be 
opened out. The great point is to combine, as far as you possibly 
can, the essential qualifications of good soil and a good lay of land, 
bearing in mind at the same time that compactness of form, and 
free communication to all paxts of the property, will in after- 
times greatly facilitate the working of the estate. The first thing 
to be done by the purchaser is to make himself thoroughly acquainted 



110 



TEA. 



with the tract of land he has purchased, both as regards the lay of the 
land, the nature of the soil and subsoil, the number of springs, 
streams, &c. ; and what timber valuable for building, making houses, 
and for fuel, there is on it. He should also, ])revious to oj)ening out, 
inspect any other estates that there may be in his neighbourhood ; and 
by carefully noticing the results on these, may save himself from 
falling into serious errors when he commences his own work. It is 
well w^orth his while to collect samples of soil from the various parts 
of his estate, and when dry to have them analysed, or else examine 
them carefully to ascertain, as far as l:e can, their general nature. 
He may compare these samples with the soils in the Neilgherry 
Gardens, and should note the general characteristics of those in 
which the tea plant thrives best. He will also be able, in these trips, 
to decide pretty accurately the future sites for his factory, buildings, 
and nurseries. 

The best lands are found, as a rule, on the lower slopes of hill- 
sides, and in sheltered ravines. The higher up he goes, the j)oorcr 
will he find his soil. The reason of this is, that every year large 
quantities of surface soil and disintegrated rock are annually washed 
down from the higher lands, and the lower slopes are thus covered 
with a thick and rich alluvial deposit. In Ceylon there are some 
striking exceptions to this rule : land close to the foot of mountains, 
and even in some cases on the tops of very high hills, being richer 
than that farther down the course of streams. 

He will examine the sidings and streams, and ascertain whether 
they can be rendered available for factory purposes, or in cases of 
extreme drought, for irrigation. A careful study of all the varieties 
of timber growing on an estate, and the means of detecting that 
which is of value, is very necessary. There may be abundance of wood 
suited for fuel and making charcoal, &c., but seldom is there any 
surplus of woods that are suited for building purposes, making 
houses, cabinet work, &c. "When he has decided on the tract of land 
which he will open out, his next business will be to clear it — that is, 
to fell all the trees and low jungle, so as to allow them to dry all 
through the hot season, previous to being burnt. Felling, then, is the 
first consideration. Whenever I can, I prefer to do this work by 
contract. From past experience, I am convinced the manager, if he 
knows how to fix the rates, will get his work done cheaper and better 
on this system. Opinions differ as to how this work should be done. 
Some cut and burn the undergrowth, merely ringing the large trees ; 
others cut all down together. A few trees of a comparatively harm- 
less nature may be left here and there, as a relief to the eye : the 
injury resulting from their presence will be very slight. In addition 
to these, all those trees whose timber is valuable should be rung and 
left standing. The timber thus left will be less injured by the after- 
burning than it would be if felled. The operation of ringing consists 
of cutting away the bark, and a small slice of the alburnum all round 
the tree for a sj)ace of from one to two feet. When this has been 
done, the sap cannot ascend, and the tree dies rapidly. When the 
land is planted, the young tea plants will suffer very little from the 
falling of the trees. As soon as the trees that are to be left for orua- 



TEA. 



Ill 



ment have been marked, and the timber trees rung, the remaining 
forest in jungle may be cut down immediately. The best time for 
doing this is just at the close of the north-east monsoon, as there are 
then four or five months in succession of fine weather to dry the wood 
previous to its- being burnt. Many chips from trees are decidedly inju- 
rious to the tea plant, and in most cases shading the seedling, are 
unnecessary, if the transplanting has been effected at the proper 
season and with due care. The best method of felling is to begin from 
the bottom, cutting down clear all the scrub, and cutting the large 
trees three-quarters of the way through. This plan is continued to 
the very top of the piece to be felled. Here some ancient patriarch 
of the forest is selected and cut through, and as he totters and falls 
downward, he carries the rest of the forest with him at one sweep. To 
fell each tree separately would entail much greater expense. In 
clearing land, always, when practicable, leave a belt of forest from 25 
to 50 yards wide, on all sides, so as to shelter the interior from severe 
winds. Never denude your hill-tops ; by so doing you diminish your 
rainfall. Leave a belt of forest all along the course of springs and 
streams ; otherwise they may dry up partially, if not wholly, during 
the dry season ; also leave a fair proportion of trees of vigorous 
growth (especially when procurable, Cincliona succirubra), round your 
building sites, not only for the sake of shade, but also for the reason 
that though they absorb noxious gases, they exhale pure oxygen. 

We now come to the question of burning the jungle so felled. As 
I have said before, on strong clayey retentive soils, burning is of 
unquestionable advantage ; but as to burning under other circum- 
stances opinions differ. On light rich soils, abounding in humus, a 
heavy burn does, in my opinion, more harm than good, both by drying 
up the surface and thus rendering it less retentive of moisture, and by 
setting free all the volatile gases contained in the organic portions of 
the soil. It is better, therefore, in these cases, to cut off, pile, and 
leave only the tops of the felled trees, together with all the small 
undergrowth. The ashes of these will supply no small amount of 
potash and other inorganic manures. , The long trunks may be cut 
into convenient lengths, and rolled down into the nullahs, or, what 
is better still, where stone is scarce, ranged in lines horizontally 
along the hill-sides, to form terraces, and thus intercept excessive 
wash. This system is undoubtedly a more expensive one, but past 
exj)erience convinces me that it will amply repay the cost in the 
end. The timber trees that have been left standing will have suffered 
little internal damage from this slight burning. The only advantage 
derived from a heavy burn is, that all forms of insect life in the soil 
will be destroyed, as also many germs of weeds. 

For burning jungle, a fine day with a light favourable breeze should 
be selected, and the jungle should be set fire to from the very bottom 
of the block, a series of fires being kindled along the whole length. 
The remnants of the first burn may be collected, piled, and burned a 
second time. As soon as all the. head branches have been burnt, the 
surface roots should be dug out and similarly treated. The larger 
stumps must be left to rot; their removal would entail too great 
expense. For some districts it may be thought advisable to destroy, 



112 



TEA. 



as far as possible, all dead wood, as, during the process of decay, it 
furnishes food for myriads of white ants, which, in the opinion of 
some planters, attack the tree as soon as the supply of dead wood has 
failed tbem. In Southern India, at all events, I have never seen a 
healthy tea plant attacked by white ants, and I doubt much, if they 
do not, attacking a diseased and unhealthy plant, do the planter as 
much good as harm. 

The planter's next care is to select the sites for his bungalow, 
factory, and oiB.ce, in one group ; the writer's house in a second ; and 
cooly lines, as most convenient, elsewhere. For the factory group, I 
prefer a flat of two or three acres in extent, so situated that a water 
channel can run through it. The bungalow and factory should be 
built close to one another, and in as central a position as possible, so 
that the manager can, during the season of manufacture, be in and out 
of his tea-house at the shortest notice. The chances of tea being 
damaged is thereby much lessened. The writer's and servants' 
houses should also be near the main group of buildings. The cooly 
lines may be built at some little distance from the bungalow, and, if 
possible, out of sight of it. If, for these buildings, a natural flat 
cannot be obtained, artificial means must be resorted to, and a wide 
terrace cut out from the side of the hill, care being taken to cut 
a deep drain at the back, as damp is to the native one of the most 
fertile sources of disease. On some large estates a hospital will be 
required, and where needed no effort should be spared to render it 
as comfortable and effective as possible. It now remains to connect 
the factory group of buildings with the main source of communication, 
the various building sites with one another ; and to make all parts 
of the estate accessible by roads of easy gradient. 

It is often necessary to establish means of communication beyond 
the limits of the estate, that is, to the nearest Government road, or 
navigable river. If possessed of very strong powers of persuasion, 
the planter may induce our Indian Government to contribute to the 
expense of making these roads ; but as a rule he may expect but little 
help from that quarter. At the same time I think unnecessary 
expenditure on roads a mistake ; I believe that, both on the score of 
economy and the efficient working of the estate, there ought to be good 
communication throughout its whole extent. The first road to be con- 
sidered is that from the factory to the easiest source of supplies. This 
road should be made at least 8 feet wide the first year, all revet- 
ments and bridges being made full 15 feet, and the gradient should 
not be less than 1 in 17. By adopting this course, the road can 
ultimately be made available for cart traffic at a trifling cost. 

The general design of the estate is now complete. It only remains 
to get it ready for subsequent planting operations. The main drains 
are the next consideration. These are intended to carry off all the 
volume of water which cannot be absorbed by the soil. The existence 
of these on an estate are of the greatest importance, and I do not think 
that the majority of planters see sufficiently the necessity that there 
is for them. The heavier the volume of water that runs down the 
hill-side, and the steeper the gradient at which it flows, the more soil it 
will wash away in its course, and if an efficient system of drainage is 



TEA. 



113 



not kept up, in two or three years the whole of the surface soil will 
be washed away, leaving nothing but the inorganic matters contained 
in the subsoil, from which the plants can obtain a subsistence. Many 
planters who are most careful in the selection of their soil, are equally 
careless with regard to its preservation. They forget that it is the 
capital from which all their profits are to be derived, and that if lost 
it can never be replaced. Manuring will be but of little avail, as the 
manure will be washed away precisely in the same manner as the soil 
has been. Heavy falls of rain may occur at any time, and by the 
want of a little forethought in laying out his estate, the planter may 
be subjected to heavy loss. These drains should be laid out horizon- 
tally, or rather at a slight gradient, say 1 in 50 or 1 in 60, at 
regular intervals from top to bottom of the estate. The distance 
between them must be regulated by the lay of the land, and the 
average amount of the annual rainfall ; vertical escape channels may 
be constructed wherever the ground admits of its being done. The 
object in the easy gradient of the horizontal channels is that the flow 
of water in these drains may be very gentle, and that any soil which 
may wash from above will settle in the drain, and can afterwards be 
replaced round the roots of the plants hy manual labour. These 
drains should be traced by the quadrant, and pegged out, as is usually 
done in the case of roads. Water channels are required for the 
building sites and nurseries. The gradient of these may' be a 
trifle sharper, say 1 in 30 to 1 in 40. They need not, except 
where water-power is required, exceed 18 inches in width, and 
the same in depth. The greater portion of these works should be 
done before the planting season commences ; by this means all hands 
will be available for the preparation of the soil when the proper 
season arrives ; all buildings required for the first year must also 
be completed before the end of the hot weather, let them be of what- 
ever description they may. 

Straits Settlements. — Experiments were made in 1871 by the pro- 
prietors of the Alma estate to introduce the tea plant. They have 
now some twenty-five acres in bearing, and the manager, who has 
had large experience in Assam and other tea-producing countries, 
considers that the trees have grown as well as could be desired, whilst 
the strength and flavour of the leaf are excellent ; but he adds that 
its success as a profitable enterprise depends greatly on an abundant 
supply of Indian labour. 

Java. — In 1826 some tea seeds sent fromDecima, in Japan, by Dr. 
Von Seiboldt, were planted in the Botanic Gardens of Buitenzong. The 
plants having succeeded, the idea was entertained of commencing tea 
culture upon a large scale. The first plantation, of about 800 trees, 
was formed in 1827, and some specimens of tea from the first trees 
grown in the island were shown at an industrial exhibition held in 
1828. A second plantation was formed at Caroet, in the regency of 
Preanger, the first being in the regency of Buitenzong. So successful 
was the progress made, that in 1833 the number of trees in the 
regency of Krawang was returned at more than 500,000. In Java, 
the best tea, with coffee, is grown at a height of 3000 to 4000 feet 
above the level of the sea. It is on the slopes of the mountains in 

I 



114 



TEA. 



the residencies of Preanger, Bagelin, and Banjoemans that the finest 
plantations of tea are found. The leaves are gathered after the 
second or third year. Up to 1842 tea was cultivated in Java exclu- 
sively on Government account, under the superintendence of its 
officials. There were then 13,500,000 tea trees. 

The number of labourers required for the culture and preparation 
of the tea was so large, the supervision so difficult, and the result so 
unsatisfactory, that the Government resolved to relinquish some of its 
plantations to private individuals, undertaking to buy the tea of them 
at a fixed price. This resulted in an extension and improvement of 
the cultivation, but the purchasing price was found too onerous for 
the Government, and the contracts were annulled after seven years' 
trial. The consequence of this was that the cultivation of tea was 
abandoned in all but the regencies of Preanger and Bagelin, and the 
districts of Buitenzong and Krawang. It was found that private 
individuals were able, when left to themselves, to grow on more 
favourable terms than the Government, for while the former obtained 
2 lbs. of tea from seven or eight trees, the latter only obtained 2 lbs. 
from thirty- three trees. In 1860, therefore, the Government gave up 
its last plantation in the regency of Bagelin. Now that it is left to 
its own energy without Government control or aid, it succeeds better. 

In 1854 the island had 14,307,768 tea plants, from which 
1,547,458 lbs. of tea were delivered to commerce. Nothing can 
be more attractive than these tea plantations, each containing from 
70,000 to 100,000 trees, and giving occupation to from twenty-five 
to thirty families of native labourers. The seeds are sown in 
nurseries, from which the young plants are planted out in line at 
a distance of about fom* feet from each other. The tree is not allowed 
to exceed one and a half to two feet in height. The gathering of the 
leaves takes place in the rainy season at the age of two years. Both 
black and green tea are made. That known as Pekoe is made from 
the leaves gathered at the top of the plant and the extremities of the 
branches. It takes the leaves from eight trees to make two pounds 
of tea. 

A tea planter in J ava writes : 

" I find tea pays better than coffee : in two years crops come in. 
My tea seed I get from Bengal, hybrid Assdrm. I commenced planting 
tea two years ago ; all the land drained, lined, manured with ashes and 
buffalo manure, holes 8^ feet deep 3^ feet wide. The tea roots pene- 
trate very deep into the soil. One man makes five to seven holes a 
day ; each hole cost five cents, 5 by 5 feet ; so all the land is worked 
at once, and no bother afterwards. I have about 70 acres planted ; 
seed Bengal hybrid. I am now going to try the indigenous Bengal, 
which is hardier. Elevation, say 700 or 800 feet, but much moisture. 
Plenty of women to collect the crops ; pluck leaves every thirty-five 
days, higher up in the hills forty-two days. I have now thii'ty chests 
each time ; before June shall have fifty chests each cvo-p. My neigh- 
bours plant 2i by 2i ; I don't approve of this. They make small holes, 
say 100 to 120 by a man in a day. I say, if you do a thing, if it is 
worth doing, do it well. I look after everything myself, so have 
plenty of work and no mistake. I avoid slopes ; use level land. 



TEA. 



115 



The former one cannot cultivate properly ; the latter is very 
doubtful." 

Mr. Jacobson, a former inspector of tea culture in Java, published 
many years ago a work in three volumes, on the mode of cultivating 
tea, the choice of grounds, and the best processes for the preparation 
and manipulation of the leaf. 

At first the culture of tea, like that of coffee, was not successful in 
Java. But by choosing suitable land, and calling in the aid of the 
Chinese for the cultivation and manufacture, it has prospered. And 
for the last nine years the cultivation has been free, and is no longer 
a State monopoly. 

It is now cultivated in the thirteen residencies ; but the principal 
establishment, where the final preparation is carried on, is in the 
neighbourhood of Batavia. 

In 1863 the exports were 1,235,000 kilos. In 1870, 105,863 piculs 
(14,079,779 lbs.). 

The cultivation of tea continues to increase, and about 3,104,000 
Amsterdam pounds (or kilos.) were exported in 1872. 

Java teas are attracting considerable attention in Europe and 
America, and the impetus thus given to the trade will no doubt 
before long lead to an increase in the present growing area. 

There were in the Preanger Eegency in 1874 twelve plantations, 
with 2991 buildings, and the produce was 1,134,366 kilos. The 
number of trees planted was 21,987,282. 

The production in the residencies of Batavia (omitting Buitenzong), 
Cheribon, and Bagelin, was in 



Kilos. 

1872 224,696 

1873 792,000 

1874 260,000 



In Japan tea is cultivated from Kiusiou to Niphon, up to the 
39° of N. lat., but the zone found most favourable is from the 30° 
to the 35°, especially in the regions on the coasts of the interior sea. 
The total annual production is only estimated at 20,000,000 lbs., but 
the shipments reach occasionally upwards of 17,000,000. The bulk 
of this goes to the United States, chiefiy to California. In 1868 the 
quantity exported was 11,598,734 lbs. In 1869 : 

Lbs. 

To United States 8,287,907 

„ England 1,111,392 

9,399,299 



The following have been the exports in the last five years from 
Kanagawa, the export year dating from the 1st of May in one year to 
the end of March in the following year : 



Lbs. 

1870 9,116,083 

1871 12,282,178 

1872 12,697,300 



Lbs. 

1873 11,958,583 

1874 ,. ., ,. 11,900,161 

1875 15,919,665 

I 2 



116 



TEA. 



In 1874 the exports from the port of Yokohama were 17,016,316 lbs., 
and from Hiogo 7,091,165 lbs. A considerable stimulus has within 
the last three years been given^ to the cultivation of the tea plant, 
with a most profitable result to the growers. The area of tea planta- 
tions is rapidly increasing, and the young shrubs planted are now 
coming into full bearing. 

The production of teas for export is steadily increasing in Japan, 
and it is probable that the tea of that country, which is pure, delicate, 
and wholesome, will maintain its hold upon the tastes of those who 
have learned to like it. 

Australia. — Baron Mueller considers that the extensive fern-tree 
gullies of Victoria would be exceedingly suitable for this culture. 

" The tea shrub was raised in the Botanic Garden at Melbourne in 
some quantity as far back as 1859, and was since that time, with the 
sanction of successive Ministries, rather largely distributed to those 
of our colonists who wished to experiment on it ; many plants were, 
amongst others, also sent to the Industrial School Depot at Sunbury. 
In early age the plant is, however, somewhat tender, and apt to 
succumb to dryness, yet not only still at the Botanic Garden, but also 
in many other of our main public plantations as well as in private 
gardens, there must be now ample means to obtain seeds for further 
dissemination or test. The growth of the plant alone for seed would 
prove for some years remunerative. Already in 1862 I brought the 
first sample of Australian tea prepared from bushes grown by myself, 
before the London International Exhibition of that year. Subsequently 
other samples from a laboratory constructed by me for work of this 
kind, and until the last two years under my control, were exhibited 
at the various great international gatherings of industrial products, 
and one of these specimen lots may likewise be seen in the Melbourne 
Technologic Museum. 

" A damp warm climate, with rains to the extent of 70 or even 100 
inches, well spread over the year, and copious in the spring, is above 
all adapted for tea culture; with a view to the amplest return, tea 
bushes should never be shrivelled up by hot winds, or oppressed 
by lasting frosts. Eich forest land in its virgin state is preferable to 
any other. Wide valleys with gentle slopes or undulations, or slightly 
elevated level lands with natural drainage, are far more eligible than 
steep hill-sides, because the working of such lands is less expensive, 
while the risk of any denudation of the roots by washing away of earth 
on declivities is avoided. Light loams of a reddish or yellowish colom', 
crumbling throughout, of several feet depth, with a surface stratum of 
decomposed forest foliage, is insisted on as the most desirable for the 
largest and most lasting yields ; nevertheless, in many other soils the 
tea bush will thrive." 

Baron Mueller further observes : 

" I believe that products would be obtained in our ranges, superior 
in flavour and strength, especially to the commoner sorts in general 
use ; hence our competition with China and Japan (which countries 
have singularly long enjoyed the monopoly in this trade) should be 
particularly in the more precious sorts of tea. The presence of so 
large a number of the Chinese people in Australia seems to indicate 



TEA. 



117 



mucli facility for turning their home experiences in this industry here 
to account. Probably neither in China nor in India can land for form- 
ing new tea gardens be obtained at such small cash outlay as in this 
and the other Australian colonies. The annual mean temperature of 
Melbourne (about 58° Fahr.) is slightly higher than that of the Dar- 
jeeling and Neilgherries tea districts (56° Fahr.), but at Assam it is 
74°, and so at Cachar in the principal tea regions. Though we pos- 
sess in Victoria warmer tracts of country (even so far south as Port- 
land, the mean being 61° Fahr.) than that about the metropolis, yet 
we cannot expect to realise tea harvests equally heavy as those for 
which Assam is already so famed ; but, like every other crop, this one 
cannot be grown in various parts of the world under conditions alike 
excellent, and we must content ourselves with lesser results. The 
rainfall at Melbourne averaged for some years 26 inches, but rose in 
1872 to 32 inches. At the eastern boundary of Gippsland it was, 
however, recorded in 1871 at 54 inches. At Schnapper Point it was, 
in 1872, 43 inches; in 1874, 39 inches. At Daylesford, |1872, 42 
inches; 1874, 40 inches. At Cape Otway, 1874, 42 inches. At 
Hastings, 1874, 45 inches. At Warrandyte, 1872, 48 inches ; 1874, 
41 inches. At Berwick, 1872, 51 inches ; 1874, 42 inches. In our- 
fern-tree gullies it would in all likelihood, as a rule, be much more. 
Want of moisture cannot militate therefore against the success of tea- 
growing in our forest glades, although in Assam the- rainfall fluctuates 
between 70 and 95 inches. At Darjeeling it is still heavier — about 
129 inches ; but the enormous precipitation of moisture at the latter 
place is acknowledged to be adverse to the best development of tea 
there. It is quite possible that here in our colony every geologic 
formation and every climatic tract, though otherwise not unfavourable 
to this culture, will not yield products of equal value in flavour and 
taste, even if the most careful methods were adopted, to secure a 
proper curing of the leaves." 

There can be no doubt that both tea and coffee can be cultivated 
with complete success in 

Queensland. — Tea grows luxuriantly on the coast, but the plant, in 
order to develop the full flavour of the leaf, seems to require the 
hibernation, or rest for a period, that cannot be had in a climate 
where the warmth and stimulus to growth are constant. The cultiva- 
tion and subsequent manufacture connected with the tea and coffee 
plants require, at certain seasons, a considerable supply of light 
labour. 

Jamaica. — In 1868 a case of tea plants was sent out from Kew to 
Jamaica, and placed under the care of Mr. Thompson, the island 
botanist at St. Andrew. The idea has been formed on good scientific 
authority that the soil and climate are so well adapted that the tea 
plant will flourish there. 

Brazil. — In 1810 a number of tea plants were introduced into 
Brazil, with a colony of Chinese to superintend their culture. The 
plantation was found near Eio Janeiro, and occupied several acres. 
It did not, however, answer the expectations formed of it ; the shrubs 
became stunted, cankered, and moss-grown, and the Chinese finally 
abandoned them. 



118 



TEA. 



A report by M. Guillamin was presented about a quarter of a 
century ago to tbe French Minister of Agriculture and Commerce on 
the culture and preparation of tea in Brazil. It entered very 
minutely into the incidents of temperature and cultivation, and dis- 
closed the important fact that the tea plant grows luxuriantly with 
the coffee and other valuable plants of the equatorial regions, and 
even on low-lying lands on a level with the sea, and exposed to the 
full rays of a burning sun. 

In Brazil, the culture of tea has been extended in the provinces 
of San Paulo, Minas, Parana, and Eio Janeiro. Eight yeai's ago 
Brazil produced about 300,000 lbs. of tea annually, and the quan- 
tity has since augmented ; but it will never send much into com- 
merce, as it has not labour to spare from coffee culture, and Yerba 
mate tea is preferred for local consumption. The Brazilian tea 
resembles, it is said, in flavour, the tea of Japan, and possesses a fine 
aroma. 

North America. — The American Commissioners of Agriculture 
reported some four years ago that tea culture was just becoming a 
feature of importance in the Western and Southern States, and that in 
a few years enough tea would be grown in those sections to meet the 
home consiunption. The Department had sent out to various parts of 
the country over 50,000 plants, nearly all of which have lived, and is 
now distributing seeds from plants raised in South Carolina. 

The following instructions have been issued for guidance in North 
America : — The adaptation of various sections to the gi'owth of 
the plant has been abundantly demonstrated, and plants from seed 
grown in the Southern States have, from time to time, been raised by 
the Dej)artment of Agriculture for distribution. So far back as 1848 
the late Dr. Junius Smith abundantly proved that the mountains of 
South Carolina would produce and mature tea, although it was there 
subjected to severe freezing, and heavy falls of snow. It was grown 
in Florida and Georgia, and even farther north. Even in the grounds 
of the Department at Washington the plant has passed through a 
very severe winter without having been absolutely killed. 

In the present state of the labour market the Americans cannot be 
expected to proceed on the plan of the British in the East Indies and 
establish large plantations. It would not pay to do so ; but the 
intelligence of the farmers of the country, and the improved agricul- 
tural machinery in use, will render completely easy there what proved 
an insuperable difficulty in India, viz. the growing of tea for family 
use. The apathy of the Hindoo races, their dislike of anything new, 
and the fact that tea is not their popular beverage, militated against 
the production of tea for their own wants in anything like a general 
system. Isolated points occur where they acquire a taste for tea, 
and then they grow and manufacture it very well, but they cannot 
accustom themselves to cultivate it with any care. 

Experiments in raising the tea plant have been tried with more or 
less success in Tennessee and South Carolina, but it has been reserved 
for California to attempt the culture on a large scale. A German 
gentleman, Herr Schnell, recently brought a small colony of Japanese 
to the State. Schnell had been a resident in Japan for ten years, was 



TEA. 



119 



formerly connected with the Prussian Embassy, and was later in the 
Japanese service. On arrival, he purchased a " ranch " (farm) of 600 
acres, near Placerville, El Dorado county. He brought with him 
6,000,000 tea seeds, and iminediately planted out a number of them ; 
only a moderate quantity have thriven. 

The tea shrub in California is an evergreen, from 4 to 6 feet 
high, with a straight stem and irregular branches, the former of a 
bright grey colour, while the latter is chestnut, the wood being hard 
with a peculiar odour. The leaves closely resemble those of the wild 
rose, the colour being bright green, but deepening with the advance 
of the season. The blossoms, at first of a rose colour, assume, when 
full blown, the colour of a tea rose ; when the flowers fade away, they 
leave a small fruit which contains the seeds, which are planted in 
rows from 4 to 6 inches deep. The proper time for planting is 
stated to be in November or December, the sprout appearing in about 
a month. Within six months the plant reaches a height of 14 inches, 
when the leaves are stripped off and placed under manipulation. The 
trees are annually trimmed down to a height of 3 feet, and it is 
believed they produce a good yield for upwards of thirty years. The 
only question as to the success of tea in California is that of labour. 

The following instructions have been issued for guidance in North 
America. 

Soils. — Almost any good, free soil, upon which water does not 
stagnate, will grow the plant. A good garden soil will produce tea 
in perfection, but it will be best to describe a tea soil as a sandy, 
chocolate-coloured loam, containing an abundance of humus or decay- 
ing vegetable matter in a fit state for absorption by the roots. 

Propagation hy Seeds and Cuttings. — The first thing for the experi- 
mental grower is to understand the best manner of raising his plants. 
This is simple, the only precaution necessary being to use fresh seed. 
If tea seed is kept for any length of time out of the ground it turns 
rancid, as the chestnut and many other oily seeds are apt to do. Eipe 
seed is known by its dark chestnut colour. As soon as procured it 
should be laid upon a hard surface and covered with 2 or 3 inches of 
rotten leaves, decayed hops, or almost any convenient vegetable 
material. In this position the seed will germinate, and when the 
sprouts are 2 or 3 inches high the young seedlings may be trans- 
ferred to beds much in the same manner as market gardeners prick 
out celery plants. The plants can be set in nursery beds at 3 or 
4 inches apart, according to the time they may possibly remain. If 
they are " pricked out " into beds in the spring, to be finally planted 
out in the fall, or in the fall to be planted in the spring, 3 inches 
will be ample ; much will depend upon the time when the seed is 
received ; if, however, the plants are likely to remain in the nursery 
beds for more than six months, it will be best to allow 4 inches 
between plant and plant. An easier method is simply to plant the 
seed in the beds in drills from 1 to 2 inches deep and 4 inches 
apart, in a half shady position ; but vacancies from bad seed cannot 
well be avoided by this plan. By germinating the seed a full 
nursery is obtained with very little extra labour. The seed may 
also be planted in hills, as gardeners plant melons, the hills being 



120 



TEA. 



5 feet apart. But here they must be weeded all the time, and, as an 
acre of ground would have to be gone over for some 1742 plants, 
much extra labour will be entailed by this method of planting the 
seed where it is to remain. Better to treat it as cabbage, nurse in 
beds, and afterward plant out. It may be useful to suggest here that 
it would be well for the nurserymen to turn their attention to the 
raising of tea plants for sale in the localities where they are 
known to thrive. 

The only attention a bed of young tea plants requires is the 
routine work of weeding, occasional watering in dry weather, and 
possibly light shading with branches of trees in leaf, cut into 
lengths of about a foot, and stuck among the plants until they 
become established. If the pricking or transplanting out is done in 
cloudy, showery weather, this labour may be saved. The propagation 
of tea by cuttings is a tedious and often very unsatisfactory process. 
The writer has put down many hundreds of thousands of cuttings 
with the view of perpetuating superior varieties. The returns of 
rooted plants varied with the season from 10 to 75 per cent. This 
method of propagation is expensive, tiresome, and unsatisfactory. A 
much better plan will be to secui'e a good pure lot of plants, and keep 
them separate as much as jDOSsible. I would suggest the propriety of 
the Department of Agriculture, and others who have the distribution 
of plants in their hands, sending one " strain " of plants alone to given 
localities as much as possible : the Assam kinds to hot and moist 
localities, and the Chinese type to di'ier and more elevated situations. 
The system of selection which has been practised with such success 
in the case of corn, tomatoes, and other plants, should be carefully 
attended to in the propagation of tea. 

The Freparation of the Soil for tea should be precisely the same as 
the preparation for any other farm crop. Secure the best possible 
tilth, manure well, preferably with vegetable manure. A crop of any 
cheap seeded legume ploughed in would be excellent ; but any available 
manure in which straw is incorporated would answer. Plough deep and 
well ; even subsoil, where the experiment is intended to be thorough, 
and the land will bear it. Harrow and cross harrow. Mark out the 
land 5 feet by 5 in straight lines, as for corn, and it is ready to 
receive the tea plants, which plant at the intersections of the scoring. 
Or, if it be determined to grow the tea with some other crop — for 
instance, onions, turnips, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, pea-nuts, low- 
growing pease, celery, or almost any crop which will not shade the 
plants— then the latter may be planted either as subdividing hedges 
at any distance apart to suit the taste, or they may be planted within 
the fences. This plan is very extensively practiced by the Chinese, 
and is a great economy of labour, since then the tea needs scarcely 
any special cultivation other than that given to well-kept hedges 
generally. The plants may be almost any distance apart in the rows, 
between 1 foot and 4 feet. The hedges may be clipped, but a flat top 
is the most productive form as regards yield of leaf. I am supposing 
that from one hundred to five hundred or more plants are to be planted 
for family use. When fully started the plantation of tea merely re- 



TEA. 



121 



quires to be kept moderately well weeded, and in no case must weeds 
be allowed to overtop and shade the tea ; it is a crop requiring the 
full sun. 

Planting. — No especial directions are necessary further than to say 
that the plants must, if possible, be planted in the spring, in showery 
weather, and not too deep; anyone who can plant a garden with 
success can manage a tea plant. A little shade may be useful if hot, 
dry, sunny weather ensues ; a few small boughs, stuck around the 
plants, are all that is needed to prevent intense evaporation from the 
soil and plants. I may mention that in deep soils the tea plant has a 
tendency to form a long, bare tap-root, somewhat resembling a root of 
salsify or carrot. The directions given as to germinating the seed on 
a hard bottom were intended to obviate this tendency to form a long 
tap-root, and start the plant in the way it should go, forming fibrous 
roots; but if perchance a long tap-root is formed in spite of all 
precautions, then,' in transplanting, it must be got out as entire as 
possible, and more care will be necessary until the plant has com- 
menced to make new roots and growth in its new position. The 
kind of culture required while the tea plants are reaching utilisable 
condition may be almost entirely performed by horse labour, if the 
tea is grown in with other crops. 

I am not urging the formation of extensive plantations as yet, and, 
consequently, I cannot pretend to regard the setting out and tending 
of an ornamental hedge as anything but very pleasant pastime for 
the intelligent farmer in his leisure hours. The base of the plants 
should be kept free of weeds, and when 6 inches of growth is made, 
the extremities of the shoots and the terminal bud and three leaves 
below should be pinched out ; if this pinching is done in the growing 
season the operator will not only be bringing his tea bush into a 
spreading shape by the process, but will also be taking off the very 
article which goes to make the bulk of the teas of commerce. This 
pinching of the 6-inch shoots should continue until the plants reach 
their third year, when a sufficient quantity of leaves will be obtained 
for manufacturing purposes. 

Picking of the Crop. — When the shrubs are about three years old 
there will be a sufficient quantity of leaves obtainable to warrant a 
muster of the women and children of the farm, each of whom should 
be instructed to nip off the young and tender growth with the finger 
and thumb, at the point. The three leaves and terminal bud, together 
with the tender stalk, make the very finest class of Souchong 
teas, often ranking, if well made, as Pekoe Souchong, and worth at 
least 5 dollars per pound. If a coarser tea is desired, the young 
growth may be nipped out at the point. Some may question the pro- 
priety of picking the stalk, but it is as tender as the leaves, and is 
invariably used except in Caper and Gunpowder teas. The leaves 
may be gathered in the apron or anything else ; there is no more 
mystery about the matter than there is about gathering pease, or any 
other crop, it being only necessary to select the young growth, for the 
coarse leaves are not worth gathering ; they will not make good tea. 

Having briefly treated of the picking process, I will give a variety 



122 



TEA. 



of methods by whicli tea is made. It takes on an average 4 lbs. of raw 
leaf to make 1 lb. of tea. 

Process No. 1. — 1. Picking the leaf; 2. Spreading two inches thick 
on mats, &c. ; 3. Tossing in the hands (as hay) ; 4. Tossing on flat 
trays ; 5. Examine for bruised red spots ; 6. Place thin on mats, &c. ; 
7. Cover with cloth until fragrant ; 8. Roasting on pan ; 9. Rolling 
Tinder the hands ; 10. Drying over charcoal. 

Process No. 2. — 1. Picking the leaf; 2. Spreading out thinly; 

3. Tossing in the hands; 4. Roasting; 5. Rolling; 6. Roasting; 

7. Rolling ; 8. Roasting ; 9. Rolling ; 10. Partial drying over fire ; 
11. Exposure to the air; 12. Picking out coarse leaf; 13. Final 
drying ; 14. Packing. 

Process No. 3. — First day and night : 1. Picking the leaf ; 
2. Spreading out thinly. Second day and night : 3. Exposure to air 
and tossing; 4. Roasting at 180° to 200° Fahr. ; 5. Rolling out 
juices ; 6. Roasting on pan at 160° ; 7. Rolling out more moisture ; 

8. Spreading out thinly. Third day and night : 9. Partial drying in 
sun or otherwise; 10. Picking out stalks, &c. ; 11. Final drying. 
Fourth day, if convenient : 12. Sifting out dust, &c. ; 13. Packing. 

Process No. 4. — First day and night: 1. Picking the leaf; 
2. Spreading out thinly. Second day and night : 3. Exposure to sun, 
turning over, tossing, and picking out of coarse leaves ; 4. Panning, 
at 180° to 200° ; 5. Rolling out juices ; 6. Fermentation in heaps ; 
7. Spreading thinly. Thii*d day and night : 8. Partial drying ; 

9. Picking out stalks ; 10. Final di-yicg. Foui'th day, if convenient : 
11. Sifting; 12. Packing. 

Process No. 5. — 1. Picking the leaves ; 2. Wither in sun two 
hours ; 3. Cool in shade one half hour ; 4. Toss and clap in hands 
ten minutes ; 5. Cool one half hour ; 6. Toss ten minutes ; 7. Cool 
one half hour ; 8. Toss ten minutes ; 9. Roasting or panning ; 

10. Rolling; 11. Roasting; 12. Rolling; 13. Final drying; 14. 
Packing. 

Process No. 6. — 1. Picking the leaf; 2. Roasting; 3. Rolling; 

4. Exposure to the air; 5. Final drying on the pan; 6. Picking out 
coarse leaf ; 7. Sifting ; 8. Packing. 

The foregoing methods have all been practised by the writer, and 
they will all produce first-class tea in certain conditions of the 
weather. No two days' work can be precisely alike as to the time the 
various operations require, any more than the operations of the hay- 
field occupy precisely the same time from year to year, but this is not 
important. The great thing to understand at the outset is the prin- 
ciple of tea manipulation, and, this once mastered, the practice may 
be modified to suit everyone's cii'cumstances. 

The difterence between black and green teas is entirely due to 
manufacture. Black tea is subjected to the oxidizing influence of the 
atmosphere, often for a considerable time; great chemical changes 
ensuing. The tannin, volatile oils, extractive matter, and sometimes 
the theine are very much toned down. 

Green teas undergo great changes also from the raw state, but the 
preservative qualities of moderate degrees of heat are brought to bear 



TEA. 



123 



upon the leaves before tliey have been acted upon by the atmosphere, 
and the above chemical constituents, together with the colouring 
matter, are better preserved than in black teas. Black teas are 
bruised, beaten, and tossed before drying ; green teas are not. Black 
teas are like a well-bruised apple, laid over for a day or two and then 
dried in an oven. Green teas are like a sound one, dried in like 
manner. These are the chief differences; but to make the matter 
more plain it will, perhaps, be best to briefly state the method of 
procedure and the utensils recjuired. 

Tea for family use, either black or green, may be made if the 
farmer or other operator can muster a cooking stove, or even a fire on 
the floor, and a brick or two, over which to set an iron or a block-tin 
pan, measuring 2 feet 4 inches in diameter and 7 inches deep ; this 
is, perhaps, the most convenient size, but a smaller will answer 
perfectly well as long as the hemispherical form is maintained. This 
is the roasting pan, and in it the raw leaves are heated so as to cause 
them to exude their moisture. The pores of the leaves open with a 
series of miniatui'e explosions, causing a sharp crackling sound ; this 
is a tolerable test of the heat ; that is, the leaves should crackle, but 
unfortunately they will do so when the pan is red hot, and liable to 
bui*n out all the goodness from the leaf. 

Whatever heating medium may be employed, whether sun, or fire, 
or their combinations, the leaves should be perfectly soft and pliable 
before they can be rolled without breakage. They should be moist 
enough to stick together. When in this state the leaves are thrown 
on a table on which a bamboo or rattan mat is nailed. The Indian 
matting used for covering floors will answer, or the table may be 
shallowly grooved. A board to be worked by the hands may be 
grooved in the opposite direction, the whole arrangement being some- 
what like a pill-making machine on a large scale. Or a machine (of 
which there are several) may be used, where the operations are suffi- 
ciently extensive to warrant its use. 

Boiling. — This process has probably attracted more attention than 
any other part of the manufacture. The object is really to extract 
and press out the bitter juices (probably tannic acid, &c.), and it 
accidentally happens that the leaf receives the various twists seen in 
commercial teas. The Chinese manage this rolling almost entii'ely 
with the hands and feet. A ball of leaves is taken in the hands and 
rolled backward and forward, on the table, the pressure used being 
considerable ; the leaves should become quite saponaceous, and when 
a quantity of juice is pressed out, and the leaves twisted, they may 
be pronounced properly rolled. It is a good plan to shake them 
out thinly after rolling, that the action of the air may evaporate the 
juices ; and, in the case of black tea, oxidize the leaf. Some opera- 
tors allow the leaves to stand in balls for a time, others warm them 
on the pan again ; some place them in the sun, others in the shade ; 
some place them in heaps to ferment, both before and after rolling. 
In short, the various methods by which good tea may be made are 
simply innumerable, but the principles of desiccation and manipulation 
must not be violated. What those principles are must in nearly every 



124 



TEA. 



case be determined by practice ; for beyond the recapitulation of the 
process as given, little more is known. I have frequently proposed 
the analysis of the leaves of tea in their raw state to the Government 
chemists in India, but I believe it has not yet been undertaken ; con- 
sequently the effect of exposure, heat, and pressure upon the leaves 
can only be conjectured. It would probably aid the inquiry very 
materially if a good manipulator could co-operate with a carefid 
analytical chemist, who, for the sake of science, would be willing to 
investigate the various changes produced by manufacture. 

The business of the farmer, after rolling and expressing his tea in 
various ways, suited to his fancy or convenience, will be finally to dry 
it over charcoal fires or on the iron pan. The latter will invariably 
produce a tea of stronger quality, partaking more or less of the cha- 
racteristics of a green tea, even though black in colour. When the 
tea is thoroughly dry it may be packed in wooden or in tin boxes, 
always taking care they are perfectly dry and air-tight. 

YERBA MATE, OR PARAGUAY TEA. 

Yerba mate is a product which, although it does not enter into 
European commerce, deserves notice from its extensive consumption 
in many of the South American States. In the former edition of the 
work full details were given of the mode of collecting and preparing 
the leaves, &c., and it is therefore only necessary now to give a more 
abridged description. The yerba mate is obtained from some species 
of holly, which have been well described by Mr. J. Miers in a paper 
on the history of the mate plant, in the ' Transactions of the Linnean 
Society.' * He shows that besides the Ilex Paraguariensis, St. Hil., 
there are several other species and varieties employed. Dr. H. 
Demessey also published a good account of it in his ' History, Phy- 
sical, Economic, and Political, of Paraguay,' two vols., Hachette, Paris, 
1865. The portion relating to mate or Paraguay tea was also pub- 
lished as a separate treatise, with illustrations, during the Paris 
Exhibition, 1867, by Bouchard-Huzard. Robertson, in his ' Letters 
on Paraguay,' London, 1839, vol. ii. p. 134, gives some interesting 
details, but it is unnecessary to go back to former years, I prefer to 
give the j)resent aspect of the trade. 

In their wild state the trees are about the size of orange trees. 
The trunk is about 2 to 3 feet in circumference, and has a 
smooth whitish bark, and the boughs, which resemble those of the 
laurel, are leafy and tufted. The leaves are evergreen, and when 
full grown are about 4 inches long, thick, glossy, and crenate at the 
edges, of a dark-green colour above, and paler underneath. The flowers 
are small and white, growing in clusters. The berries are red, very 
smooth, and similar to the Christmas holly. The leaves of this Hex 
yield the same bitter principle, theine, which is found in the Chinese 
tea plant. Although the former may not afford so much of the agree- 
able narcotic oil as the latter, in consequence of the careless and 

* Also in 'Annals and Magazine of Natural History,' 1861, No. xlvii., p. 389, 



TEA. 



125 



primitive manner in which they are collected and prepared for use, 
yet they produce a most agreeable and refreshing beverage, which 
forms the staple di'ink of the South American republics. 

As far back as the seventeenth century the yerba mate was com- 
monly di-unk throughout the state of Paraguay. There can be little 
doubt but that the aboriginal Indians taught the use of this tea to 
their Spanish conquerors, and the early Jesuit missionaries planted 
great numbers of the tree before their expulsion, since which time 
its cultivation has been neglected. The expeditions to collect and 
prepare it start from Assuncion, the capital, to the yerba groves, a 
distance of 200 miles, and are generally composed of forty to fifty 
persons mounted on mules, having with them other mules and 
bullocks. On reaching a locality where the trees are abundant, 
wigwams are erected and the tataciia constructed. This consists 
of clearing a small space of ground, the soil of which is then beaten 
down with heavy mallets until it becomes quite hard and level; 
at the four corners of this space sticks are driven into the ground, 
from which a sort of net made from strips of hide is stretched, a 
fire is kindled beneath, and the leaves on the boughs, as they are 
brought in from the surrounding forests, are scorched by being 
placed on the net, care being taken that no ignition takes place. 
The scorched leaves and small twigs are then pulverized into 
a coarse powder by means of a rude wooden mill, and frequently 
stamped with blocks into dust, after which process they are ready to 
be weighed and put up into packages for export. Half a bullock's 
hide in a green state is used to form a kind of sack to hold the tea, 
being first sewn up at the sides. The tea is then pressed down until 
it is quite full, the mouth is sewn up, and the package, which usually 
weighs from 200 lbs. to 250 lbs., is left to dry and tighten in the 
sun for a few days, until it becomes as hard and impervious as a 
stone. Such a mode of collection and preparation is indeed primitive, 
and the twigs impart a woody flavour to the tea, otherwise very 
agreeable. 

In Paraguay this tree combines, as it were, the properties of culti- 
vated and wild plants. Indigenous to the country, the tree forms 
entire forests called " Yerbales," in the central, eastern, and northern 
regions of the republic. The Jesuits having formed vast jplantations 
of it roimd their residencies, these have continued, and their produce 
forms in what are still called the Missiones, the principal article of 
commerce at the present day. The Government monopoly of the sale 
of yerba, and a heavy duty imposed upon its export, formed at one 
period the principal soui'ce of revenue in Paraguay. 

There appears to be a considerable difference in the quality and 
estimation of the mate, according to the locality from which it is 
derived ; whether this arises from the difference of the plant or mode 
of preparation does not appear. 

That of Paraguay is the most bitter and aromatic of all, and the 
most esteemed ; it yields four times the quantity of infusion that 
the mate of the Missiones or of Paranagua does. Hence, although 
dearer in price, it is the most economic. A coarse kind is made in 



126 



TEA. 



Parana, Brazil, from the leaves alone, and these being unpulverized, 

are used in the same way as Chinese tea. 

At first Europeans do not like mate, it having a herby and somewhat 
bitter taste, but among the inhabitants of the South American States 
it is a much prized article of luxury and necessity, and is the first 
thing offered by them to their visitors ; indeed their tables are rarely 
seen unoccupied by it ; and the " gaucho " of the plains will travel on 
horseback for weeks, asking no better fare than dried beef washed 
down by copious draughts of mate. The demand being great and 
increasing, there is unfortunately continually going on a rapid 
destruction of the tree. The Jesuits foreseeing this, started large 
plantations in Paraguay, and at their branch missions in the provinces 
of Parana and St. Pedro do Eio Grande, some of which still exist and 
furnish the best tea made ; and of late years some of the landowners, 
sensible of the short-sighted policy pursued, have established many 
plantations with the best results, as the quality of the tea improves 
with the cultivation of the tree. 

It is difficult to get at any consecutive or reliable returns for the 
entire traffic in this commodity, the production of which is carried on 
in such a desultory and rude manner, and extends over so vast an area 
of wild country. A careful consultation of the official returns of the 
several republics and of Brazil, as well as British consular reports, 
enables me, however, to make an approximate estimate of the trade and 
consumption. 

Forty thousand arrobas (or 10,000 cwts.) were imported into the 
Argentine Eepublic in 1870. In the next two years the consumption 
was as follows in the Argentine Confederation : 





Description. 


IStl. 


1872. 






Paraguay Yerba . . 
Brazilian „ 


lbs. 

260,000 
17,688,000 


lbs. 
3,356,000 
23,506,000 






Total .. .. 


17,948,000 


26,862,000 





The total consumption of yerba in the Argentine Republic in 1872 
thus averaged 13 lbs. per head of the population, against 2 lbs. of 
coffee, and only i lb. of tea. Altogether,^ nearly 27,000,000 lbs. 
appear to have been consumed in the republic during that one year. 
Surprising as this amount is at first sight, it is explained by the fact 
that yerba constitutes the only vegetable nourishment of many classes 
of the community. In the rural districts, as well as the smaller towns, 
this herb is considered a regular form of diet, and not, like tea in 
England, a mere accompaniment of the breakfast table. The method 
of manufacture is to mix ordinary sugar with the decoction of yerba 
until a thick syrup is produced, when it is ready for drinking. Pro- 
bably the nourishing qualities attributed to the herb by the natives are 
derived from this mixture of saccharine matter. As might have been 
expected from the prevalence of this practice, the annual consumption 



TEA. 



127 



of sugar in the Argentine Eepublic is enormous. In 1872 no less than 
20,000,000 lbs. of coarse sugar were imported. Refined descriptions 
amounted to more than 22,000,000 lbs., although a duty of 25 per 
cent, ad valorem had to be paid. Viewing the extreme popularity of 
yerba in South America, it seems strange that it has not yet been 
introduced into Europe, as an addition to the food supply. 

In 1854 the exports from Paraguay were 85,676 arrobas ; in 1860, 
174,238 arrobas. In time of peace there is annually exported yerba 
mate to the value of about 200,000?., chiefly to Buenos Ayres. The 
exports in the three years ending 1863 averaged 4,500,000 lbs. per 
annum. 

In 1856 it was estimated that 6000 persons were employed in pre- 
paring mate in the Brazilian missions. It is for the most part sent by 
carts to Itaguy, a small town on the banks of the Uruguay, and from 
there goes by water to the River Plate. In the year ending June 
1858, 2,650,000 lbs. were shipped from that port. At Montevideo 
the Brazilian mate is preferred to that from Paraguay. 

About 400,000 arrobas (100,000 cwts.) are produced annually in 
Parana, where it is indigenous ; the finer kind is exported to La Plata, 
the coarser goes to Chili. In 1854 there was imported into Chili 
144,792 arrobas. 

The official value in Brazil was 13s. lOd. per cwt. in 1853, and 
29s. Id. per cwt. in 1856 ; in 1858 it fetched 32s. U,, in 1863 it fell 
to 21s. 10c?. per cwt. The exports of yerba mate to foreign countries 
from Brazil have gone on increasing from 181,365 arrobas in 1841 
to 605,179 arrobas in 1863. 

From Porto Alegre 83,840 arrobas were shipped in 1862-63, and 
from Uruguay 27,445 arrobas; there used to be as much shipped 
from that port as 97,000 arrobas. From Paranagua 404,829 arrobas 
were exported in 1862-63. Thus the shipments from these three 
ports in the year ending 1863 amounted to 129,028 cwts. In 1865 
the total shipments from Brazil to the neighbouring States exceeded 
250,000 cwts. In 1872 the quantity was somewhat less, 200,000 cwts., 
valued at 251,000/. 

The following show the exports and value from Brazil : 



Year 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 


lbs. 

19,553,329 
35,402,899 
22,781,625 
23,370,334 
28,852,460 


£ 

137,306 
89,575 
147,844 
172,104 
221,105 



Chili is said to take now about 40,000 arrobas, and Peru 100,000 
yearly. 

It might be worth while to attempt the introduction and acclima- 
tization of so useful and ornamental a tree in some of our British 
colonies, such as Queensland and Natal, where the climate is some- 



128 



SUGAE. 



what similar to Paraguay. Looking at the use of its leaves, we see 
no reason why it should not be cultivated with remunerative profits. 

Such a valuable plant, doubtless, is worth the attention of some 
colonial planters, and with a careful collection of leaves only, and a 
better method of drying them, the tea would be rendered both grateful 
and palatable. But we have been so much accustomed to tea leaves 
being curled up and not powdered to dust, that possibly some pre- 
judice might exist against using it in the form of powder, although 
the infusion is thereby very readily made. 



SUGAE. 

The luxuries of man soon become his necessities, and he works 
with intense thought and labour for things of which he once was 
wholly ignorant. This is the case with sugar. No longer than five 
hundred years ago our European race did not know sugar at all. A 
hundred years ago it was a great luxury. Now it is sold at 3d. or 
4:d. per pound, and used in abundance as an every-day article, by the 
poorest people. The sugar of commerce is an artificial article, like 
our distilled liquors, yet the saccharine principle, a distinctive element 
of food, is found in almost all the j)lants we use, especially the most 
valuable. It is met with in the stalk of tbe maize, and molasses has 
been repeatedly made from Indian corn. The beetroot contains it in 
large quantity, and most of the sugar now used in France is made 
from the beet, its culture having been forced by the Emperor Napoleon 
by means of high import duties. Several other vegetables contain the 
saccharine principle, which is thus diffused through the vegetable 
world as an essential element of human food. When we treat it, 
therefore, as a necessity of life, we are not far wrong ; for, in one form 
or another, we must consume it. The fruits contain it, and the very 
trees, as the maple, the hickory, and the palms. We are thus 
invited to use this saccharine element with all our food, and as the 
concentrated form is the most convenient and manageable, we make 
it artificially. 

Though the manufacture of sugar was commenced in the West 
Indies early in the sixteenth century, yet its use in domestic economy 
did not become general in Europe or America before the beginning of 
the last century. In the year 1700 only 10,000 tons were used in 
Great Britain, though the English were at that time the leading 
manufacturers of sugar. The consumption of sugar in the British 
islands in the year 1875 was 900,000 tons. In almost every country 
the consumption of sugar is steadily increasing. 

Production. — The following may be taken as a rough estimate of the 
production of sugar over the globe at the close of 1876 : 

Tons. 

Cane sugar 2,140^000 

Beetroot sugar 1,320,000 

Date „ 150,000 

Maple „ 20,000 

Sorghum „ 20,000 



SUGAR. 



129 



Tlie appended table gives the official value of the sugar exported 
from the principal British possessions in decennial periods : 





1854. 


1864. 


1874. 




£ 


£ 


£ 




948,582 


716,857 


281,743 




1,178,979 


2,126,511 


2,318,158 




2 


94,208 


159,078 






108,373 






28,064 


12,641 






25,471 




624,327 


503 ",470 


482,779 


Virgin Isles .. .. .. 


836 


388 






96,065 


95,201 


110 ',564 




26,538 


13,577 


54,079 




55,155 


71 ,753 




li",614 


9,542 


23,508 




52,288 


34,670 


56,727 




41,468 


95,700 


127,712 




1 ID , 0\J\J 


554,488 


LZ^l , / OZ 




728,586 


711,676 




90,516 


100,633 


58,921 






55,645 


37,104 




289*319 


741.881 


673,973 




726,768 


1,329,713 


1,980,552 


Total 


5,092,390 


6,670,029 


10,518,364 



The West Indian production (omitting Cuba) may be thus divided : 



Tons. 

British Guiana 75,000 j 

Trinidad 50,000 > 

Barbados 40,000 i 

Jamaica 25,000 

St. Vincent 8,000 'i 

St. Kitts 8,000 I 

Antigua 8,000 ' 

St. Lucia 6,000 

Tobago 5,000 

Grenada 5,000 \ 

Dominica 3,500 

Nevis 2,000 . j 

Montserrat 1 , 500 I 

Surinam 11,000 

St. Croix 5,000 | 



Total 250,000 



The Sugar Eefiners' Committee recently prepared some approximate 
statistics for the Board of Trade as to the Sugar Production of the 
■world, '^\hich we reproduce; but as shipments are in most cases 
the only data to be obtained, it must be recollected that the figures 
given are far from representing the total production. This is espe- 
cially the case with such countries as China, India, Central America, 
Brazil, Peru, and Egypt. 

K 



130 



SUGAB. 



Cane-sugar Production in 1876, in round numbers : 

Tons, 

Cuba 700,000 

Porto Eico 80,000 

British, Dutch, and Danish West Indies . . 250 ,000 

Java 200,000 

Brazil 170,000 

Manila"' 130,000 

China " 120,000 

Mauritius 100,000 

Martinique and Guadaloupe 100,000 

Louisiana (none exported) 75,000 

Peru 50,000 

Egypt .. .. 40,000 

Central America and Mexico 40,000 

Keunion 30,000 

British India and Straits 30,000 

Honolulu 10,000 

Australia 5,000 



Total 2,140,000 



Of this the classification may be assumed to be as follows : 

Tons. 

Muscovado 900,000 

Centrifugal (1st products) 600,000 

„ 2nd „ 110,000 

Clayed 500,000 

Concrete 30,000 



Total 2,140,000 



The following is given as the Beetroot Sugar Production of 
1875-76, by the Sugar Eefiners' Committee : 

Tons. 

German Empire 346,646 

France 462,259 

Kussia and Poland 245,000 

Austria and Hungary 153,922 

Belgium 79,796 

Holland and other countries 30 , 000 



Total 1,317,623 



The various kinds made are : 

Tons. 

Refined 70,000 

White crystallized 200,000 

First product brown 700,000 

After products 350,000 



Total 1,320,000 



Besides the quantity imported into the markets of the civilized 
world, as much more, it is estimated, is probably consumed locally 
in the producing countries. In India the local consumption was 
roughly estimated at over 1,000,000 tons. 



SUGAK. 



131 



Consumption. — The following are the latest statistics of consumption 
in the various countries, deduced for the most part from official docu- 
ments, and the balance of imports over exports. In the European 
beetroot sugar-producing States it is not always possible to arrive 
at correct data of the actual consumption, and those countries with a 
star (*) affixed are mere rough estimates, being for the most part pro- 
ducing countries for which there are no reliable returns of con- 
sumption : 





Year. 


Aggr6gcite Con- 
sumption. 


Libs, per 
Head. 


EuEOPE : 




cwts. 






1875 


18,374,543 


62-8 


Holland f . . . 


1874 


800 000 


25-03 


Belgium 


1874 


1,000,000 


23-19 


1873 


1,223,733 


.. 




1874 


6,120,000 


16-6 




1873 


533,831 


33-3 




1873 


630,741 


16-9 




1873 


193,086 


12-7 




1874 


5,000,000 


15-5 




1874 


3,400,000 


15-1 




1873 


381,295 


15-9 




1874 


300,000 


8-4 




1873 


81,817 


•54 




1874 


4,000,000 


5-4 




1874 


500,000 


3-8 




lo/l 


(50,000 


6*6 




1873 


865,350 


8-6, 


Amektca: 










1873 


13,040,500 


37-8 


British America .. .. ..- ^ 


1875 


1,721,386 


51-4 




1874 


642,857 


8-0 




1874 


570,000 


5-61 




1874 


1,000,000 


43-9 


Other South and Central American States* 


1874 


500,000 




West India Islands (British and Foreign)* 


1874 


1,000,000 




Northern and Southern Africa* 


1874 


1,000,000 






1874 


1,713,142 


85-9 


India, China, and the Eastern and Pacific"! 




25,000,000 





t The balance of imports over exports of foreign sugar in 1873 was 44,510 cwts. 

j The balance of imports over exports of foreign and colonial sugar in 1873 was 2,121,900 cwts. 

$ Spain is also a sugar-producing country. 

II The balance of imports over exports of foreign sugar was in 1873, 31,667 cwts. 



The differences of consumption shown in this table are startling, 
but they are owing not only to variations in the wealth of the 
countries named, but to those of their clim.ate. Countries in which 
wine is made and fruit ripens consume less sugar than those situate 
under more inclement skies. Thus, Austria and Switzerland, though 
richer than Sweden and Denmark, consume less sugar than the latter, 
where no wine is made. 

The consumption of sugar has been greatly on the increase in the 
ifnited Kingdom. In 1875 we imported 16,264,711 cwts. of raw 

K 2 



132 



SUGAR. 



sugar and 2,860,776 of refined, besides 768,410 cwts. of molasses 
and 237,997 cwts. of liquid glucose, or starch sugar; and of this 
quantity only 750,944 cwts. were re-exported. Of the total imports, 
however, only about one-third came from our own possessions, namely, 



from — 

Cwts. 

South Africa 29,376 

Mauritius 585,395 

British India 430,772 

Straits Settlements 116,664: 

British West India Islands ..3,532,426 

British Guiana 1 , 210 , 193 

British Honduras 34,615 



Total 5,939,641 



The short table of proportions per cent, following shows the change 
that is taking place in the taste for raw sugar : 



Home Consumption. 


1 1869. 


1870. 


1871. 




1 -95 


2-54 


3 


63 




20-03 


29-72 


30 


11 


Third „ 


1 26*82 


26-34 


23 


53 


51-94 


41-42 


42 


73 



The proportion of refined used to raw has also risen. 

The following figures, giving the official consumption per head of 
the population at decennial periods, show that we are the largest con- 
sumers of sugar of any nation on the globe : 



Year. 


Eaw Sugar, 


Refined. 


Total. 




lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


1855 


29-22 




29-22 


1865 


37-05 


2-73 


39-78 


1875 


53-97 


8-88 


62-85 



Of late years, owing to the bounty given by the French, we have 
been receiving large quantities of beetroot sugars vearly; thus, in 
1874, 188,800 tons, and in 1875, 102,300 tons, principally refined 
beet sugar, were imported from France and Belgium. Good cane- 
sugar has been driven out of the market by inferior beetroot sugar, 
which for household purposes is 80 per cent, inferior, as every house- 
holder may know by filling two large cups of tea and putting in each 
precisely the same weight of cane and beet sugar, and testing the sac- 
charine difference. 

Until within a few years ago British Guiana was the only British 
colony besides Mauritius in which vacuum-pan sugar was manu- 
factured, and Demerara alone made sugar suited to the wants of the 
British grocers. Kow, Barbados, Jamaica, and some other of the 
British West India islands, have carried out this improvement. 



SUGAR. 



133 



Molasses. — Besides sugar we receive much syrup or molasses. The 
largest quantity now comes from the United States. The following 
were the countries which furnished us supplies in 1875 : 



Cwts. 

France 103,089 

Egypt 36,762 

United States of America 366,916 

Spanish West India Islands 75 , 569 

Australia .. .. 55,549 

British West India Islands 113,187 

British Guiana 2,897 

Other countries 14,444 



Total .. 768,410 



It is a remarkable fact that the West Indians should export their 
molasses in such a state that it contains large quantities of extract- 
able crystallizable sugar, and that a large and profitable trade 
should be carried on in its extraction both here and in the United 
States. Molasses proper ought to contain no extractable crystallizable 
sugar, and if it does contain any it ought to be called syrup, and not 
molasses. By cutting the canes at the wrong period, by keeping 
them till acids form, by boiling the juice in such a way as to ensure 
the acidity spreading as far as possible, the planter creates very much 
more than the unavoidable amount of molasses, worth from half to one- 
third the price of sugar; and he still further carelessly wastes his 
resources by letting large quantities of extractable sugar remain in the 
molasses. The colonial planter ought to study what is done on the 
Continent, in order to extract the last possible fraction of sugar from 
molasses. For instance, his attention should be directed to applying 
to the cane some modification of the supersaturation process of 
M. Marguerite, or of the osmogene process of M. Dubrunfaut, both 
of which processes are founded on strictly scientific principles. 

Bum, another prodact from the sugar-cane, which we require largely 
for the supply of our navy, is furnished almost entirely from our 
own colonies. The imports from these in 1875 having been, from 



Galls, 

Mauritius 583,365 

British West India Islands 3,445,566 

British Guiana 3,624,294 



Total 7,653,225 



Of this quantity, 5,386,843 gallons were taken for consumption. 

A little over 1,000,000 gallons of rum from foreign colonies was 
also received, but re-exported. 

Varieties of the Sugar-cane. — In most of the torrid parts of the New 
World, and in many of the islands of the West Indian group, species of 
the genus Saccliarum have been found in an indigenous state. In the 
uncultivated parts of Trinidad three species were met with : S. con- 
tractum, Poit ; S. polystachyum, Sw. ; and S. duhium, H. B. The 
variety denominated the ribbon-cane, from its vaHegated coloured 



134 



SUGAR. 



stripes, is also indigenous to the island, and to the neighbouring 
continent. This cane is remarkably hardy, but is less productive 
than the Otaheite cane now generally cultivated, and which was taken 
to the West Indies in 1769. The purple cane, a native of the Ameri- 
can continent, has been grown in the islands, but is found inferior to 
the Otaheite cane. 

The sugar-cane (Saccharum qfficinarum, Lin.) has a jointed stem 
from 6 to 12 feet high or more, solid, hard, dense, internally juicy, 
and hollow only in the flowering tops. 

It succeeds in almost all tropical and sub-tropical countries, reaching 
in South America and Mexico an elevation above the level of the sea 
of about 5000 to 6000 feet. It is cultivated in most parts of India 
and China, up to 30° to 31° N. lat., the mountainous regions excepted. 

In an account of the Society Islands and their principal vegetable 
products, by M. Cuzent, published at Eochefort in 1860, some in- 
teresting details are given of the varieties of sugar-cane cultivated 
there, which it appears to me desirable to diffuse. 

Eight species are enumerated. 

1. Saccharum atroruhens, called locally To Uti. The stalk is of a 
fine violet colour, large, and contains much juice, the pith is also of 
a violet hue. This variety is cut at about fourteen months. It is not 
indigenous, but was imported from Batavia in 1782 by Bougainville 
and Blight, who also introduced into the various colonies the varieties 
of canes with green and yellow stems known in the Antilles under 
the name of Tahiti canes. 

2. S. ruhicundum. Native name Hutu or Kurutu. The stem is of 
a clear violet, with white pith ; the young leaves are violet coloured. 
This cane comes from Cook's Archipelago, and takes its native name 
from the island of Eurutu. 

3. S. fragile. Native name Irimotu. This has a green stem, which 
is fragile and breaks with a straight fracture without splintering; 
the pith is white. It is rich in juice, but is little cultivated, because 
its stem is so pubescent, and the hairs enter the skin in cutting the 
cane, and also attack the respiratory organs. 

4. S. ruhicundum variety. Native name Oura. This is the ribbon- 
cane, having a violet stem with longitudinal bands of a bright yellow ; 
the pith is white. This grows to a great size, especially in humid 
soils. 

5. S. ohscurum, Trin. Native name Piavere. This is the Creole 
cane ; it has a light-red stem, and does not grow so large as the pre- 
ceding varieties, the internodes are also less distant. The pith is 
white, and the juice not being so rich it is regarded as an inferior 
species. 

6. S. glaher. Native name Vaihi-uouo, or simply Uouo, white, 
from the colour of its stalk. It does not contain so much juice as 
the other species, but its sap is more rich in crystallizable sugar. It 
was introduced from the Sandwich Islands, whence the name Vaihi, 
which is given to those islands by the Tahitians. 

7. S. fragile variety. Native name Avae. This has a yellow 
stalk banded with clear green, having some resemblance to No. 6 
Vaihi. The pith is white, tender, and very juicy, hence the natives 



SUGAR. 



135 



chew it in preference to the other kinds, but the sap is not very rich 
in crystallizable sugar. 
8. S.fatuum, Bechey. 

There are also two other indigenous varieties met with on the 
flanks of some of the mountains, which are not large, and designated 
by the natives under the generic name of To-Aeho. The first, called 
To-Patu, is red, and contains more juice than the second, the stalk 
of which is white. These varieties belong to the species known as 
>S^. sjwntaneum, Lin., or >S'. floridulum, Labill. 

The Tahiti canes yield a fourth more juice and a sixth more crys- 
tallizable sugar than most of the other canes grown in the colonies. 
As those known as Tahiti canes grown in the West Indies have much 
degenerated, it is desirable that they should be renewed by fresh 
stock. 

The botanical names given above are on the authority of 
M. Pancher, botanist at New Caledonia. 

The Salangore cane, an eastern variety, has been introduced into 
Brazil and the French West Indian colonies ; in the former it has 
become diseased, but in the latter it is well spoken of. 

An acre of each of eighteen selected varieties of new sugar-canes 
was planted by Mr. K. Thomson, the colonial botanist, in Jamaica, 
in 1875 ; and about the same number of other varieties was also 
experimentalized on, so as to ascertain which would be the best 
to grow. 

The Salangore cane is spoken favourably of there ; it grows with 
great vigour under irrigation, and the number of shoots springing 
from each cane is remarkable. This variety should be planted wider 
apart than the space allotted to other kinds of cane. 

The time has come when the yield of the cane must be increased, 
and it is well known that certain species are more susceptible of 
improvement than others. This law runs throughout the vegetable 
kingdom; and people who cultivate vegetables for manufacturing 
purposes always therefore not only seek for what grows best, but for 
what will yield most readily to cultivation. The beetroot growers, 
by acting according to good judgment on this point, have devoted so 
much attention to the selection of the richest varieties of their plant, 
that they have raised its saccharine strength from barely 4 per cent, 
to 8 and even 12 and 15 per cent., and this within less than fifty 
yearg. On the other hand, it is undeniable that the cane growers 
have remained content with the gifts of nature, and have done very 
little towards raising the quality and productiveness of their plant. 
The humble root which rivals the cane has been doubled and trebled 
in richness, whilst the sugar-cane has remained comparatively 
stationary. It is asserted by many able to decide the question, that 
beetroot has now reached its maximum of sugar-producing quality, 
and we ought to be encouraged in our efforts to improve the cane by 
the knowledge that this plant has not yet reached its maximum of 
production. 

The results obtained from the trial of the Salangore cane at a planta- 
tion called Grand Pare, situated near Basseterre, are specially note- 
worthy. Planted at the full distance apart (two yards by two yards), 



136 



SUGAR. 



whicli is an essential condition, and manured at tlie right times, the 
Salangore cane grows with such vigour, and in such thick tufts, that in 
five or six months it forms so thick a green covering that weeds cease 
to grow about it. The weedings are thus notably reduced. The cane 
goes through the period of flowering without injury. The tufts yield 
from twenty-five to forty canes. In consequence of the enormous 
quantity of canes produced by each tuft, the weight to the acre is 
much above that of an ordinary acre of canes. In one case sixteen 
tufts of canes, which were far from being the finest in the field, were cut 
in a square space of 38 * 45 metres, and they weighed 367 kilogrammes 
net, from which, in proportion, we should find, in round numbers, 100,600 
kilogrammes to the hectare. To ascertain the weight produced from 
a hectare of ordinary canes, the minutes of a meeting of the Sugar 
Society of Point-a-Pitre, of December, 1869, were consulted, and an 
authoritative declaration was made as follows : In Guadaloupe, an 
average of 40,000 kilogrammes of cane to the hectare is obtained, 
whilst at Grande Pare 30,000 only are obtained. The average at 
Beauport has been only 27,000 kilogrammes to the hectare. The 
hagasse of the Salangore cane gives so much fuel that only a small 
addition of straw is required, and this quantity leaves as much upon 
the ground for the use of the plantation as other kinds of canes. The 
juice of the Salangore cane is abundant. The sugar is easily made, 
without any other ingredients than those used in the manufacture of 
sugar from other kinds of cane. The yield per acre is considerably 
superior to that of other canes. 

Mr. H. Prestoe, the colonial botanist of Trinidad, has recently pub- 
lished an of&cial report, describing the fourteen best varieties of 
sugar-cane, among thii'ty-two surviving kinds of a larger number sent 
from the Mauritius. Eighteen of the thirty-two seem to be distinct 
varieties, and deserving of care and cultivation, as possessing characters 
that give them, in one way or other, a superiority over the two or 
three sorts at present in cultivation, and among which the yellow 
Otaheite takes by far the largest place. Some of the new varieties are 
peculiar for length of joint (properly internode, or 'tween joints), and 
some for length of joint united with stoutness. One is remarkable for 
both, joined with a very soft tissue. This sort is of a fine dark-claret 
colour, and is numbered 10 in the list. In common with many of the 
others, it also bears drought well, and is prolific. Two (Nos. 13 and 
14) being extremely hardy and prolific, are recommended as fodder 
canes, to plant on poor, dry soils, unsuited for the better canes. 
They are much hardier than Guinea grass, and will yield a manifold 
greater weight per acre of surpassingly nutritious fodder. They are 
purple- striped. No. 8 resembles the best yellow Otaheite. No. 11, a 
dark-purple cane, perhaps a less luxurious offshoot of same parent as 
No. 10, is also soft in tissue. All to No. 12 are described as stouter, 
more promising canes than the common Otaheite, planted in the same 
soil and under the same conditions, and which were rarely 1^ inch in 
diameter. Only No. 4 was so small, Nos. 2, 6, 9, 11, and 12 being If 
inch, Nos. 1, 3, 5, and 7 being 2 inches, while the joints of the very 
handsome, clean cane. No. 10, averaged 2i inches in diameter by 6^ 
inches long. No. 6 has B-inch joints. No. 9, 5^ inches, and Nos. 4, 6, 



SUGAK, 



137 



11, and 12 have 5-incli joints. Those of No. 1 are 4^ inches, of 
No. 3, 4 inches, and of Nos. 2 and 7, 3^ inches. No. 6 grows very- 
straight canes. No. 7 retained a green foliage, and although short in 
joint, is stated to have a very fine habit. The botanist is careful to 
say that, having been grown on poor soil, the dimensions given indi- 
cate, not the ultimate standard these varieties will attain to under 
more favourable conditions, but only their relative value compared 
with the common Otaheite, in fields planted alongside of them. He 
anticipates that a richer and moister soil will improve all. Purple 
and purple-striped canes are generally admitted to be preferentially 
adapted, by the hardiness of their habit, to the poorer drier soils ; but 
it must be remembered, they have a hardness of tissue that gives more 
trouble in crushing. Nos. 10 and 11, however, are remarkable ex- 
ceptions, and he thinks that others of the list, when tried in really 
goodly soil, will improve and assume a freer habit, and gain a larger 
size than ever shown by our old friend the yellow Otaheite. The 
paper mentions incidentally a grand purple cane obtained from the 
islands of the South- Western Pacific, the "Queen" cane, whose joints 
are 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Experiments in shortness of time to 
ripen, gallons of liquor per acre, saccharine strength per polariscope, 
and other particulars are also required, before the planter can know 
the relative value of the different kinds. There is not the least reason 
to doubt that with selection and good nursing, very superior and fixed 
qualities can be obtained in sugar-cane, as freely as they have been in 
wheat, turnips, beet, fruit, garden flowers, and domestic stock. Tropical 
staples are ages behind Europe in this respect, and have hence grand 
possibilities in ovo, but they will not be realised without effort, judg- 
ment, and perseverance. According to the ' West Indian,' a Barbados 
paper, a foot in length of sugar-cane grown in that island weighs three- 
quarters of a pound, and a bunch of canes grown in one hole weighs 
54 lbs. on an average, which yield 4 gallons of liquor or juice, from 
which 4 lbs. of muscovado sugar are got. Of the 64 lbs., the juice 
weighs 50 lbs. An acre of ripe canes, planted 6 by 5 feet, gives 
1452 bunches, or 5808 gallons of juice, or 5808 lbs. of sugar. At 
50 lbs. of cane to the hole (or hill), an acre of canes, planted as 
above, would weigh, when cut, 72,600 lbs., or 36 tons, 90 per cent, 
being juice. It takes these 36 tons of cane to give 2^- tons of raw 
sugar, or 360 tons from a 10-acre field to yield 25 tons of sugar. For 
the first six months the plant requires but little rain to keep it in 
vigour ; but afterwards it needs a constant supply, and an increase of 
growth in the last three months of the year. 

The multiplication of all sorts of sugar-cane is usually effected from 
top cuttings, but this cannot be carried on for an indefinite period 
from the same original shoots without deterioration; and as seeds 
hardly ever ripen on the canes, new plants must from time to time be 
brought from a distance. Thus New Caledonia has latterly supplied 
its wild-growing splendid varieties for replanting many sugar fields 
in Mauritius. 

The Bourbon variety is praised as one of the richest in sugar ; the 
Batavian species (S. violaceum) is content with less fertile soil. 

The Chinese variety (5. sinense, Roxb.) is hardier, and bears drought 



138 



SUGAR. 



better tlian the ordinary cane. This species needs renewal only every 
second or third year, and ripens in seven months if planted early in 
spring, but if planted in autumn and left standing for fully a year the 
return of sugar is larger. 

Many other varieties are known. Excessive rains produce a rank 
luxuriance of the canes at the expense of the saccharine principle. 
Eich manuring is necessary to attain good crops, unless in the best of 
virgin soil. The lower leaves of the stem must be successively 
removed (a process called " trashing "), also superabundant suckers, 
to promote the growth upwards and to provide ventilation and light. 
Moderate vicinity to the sea is favoui'able to the growth of the cane. 
The average yield of sugar varies from IJ ton to 3 tons per acre. 

British Guiana. — This is essentially a sugar- growing colony. The 
value of its staple exports,_the produce of the sugar-cane, in 1871 
was as follows : 

£ 

Sugar 2,190,510 

Euin 311,880 

Molasses 65,313 

Total 2,567,703 



Of the sugar, about half goes to the United States, and the re- 
mainder to Great Britain and her colonies; the rum is nearly all 
sent to the United Kingdom. 

The sugar exported in 1871 consisted of 104,310 hogsheads, being 
the largest crop this colony has ever produced. The rum consisted 
of 29,703 puncheons. 

The following will show the progress of sugar production, as 
evidenced by the exports : 





Year. 


Sugar. 


Rum, 


!RIolasses. 




1851 
1861 


lbs. 

66,667,776 
115,755,200 


imp, galls. 
1,458,016 
2,728,913 


imp. galls. 
905,016 
319,884 


There are in the colony 124 sugar estates, and the average annual 
produce of these in the two years ending 1874 was 90,888 hogs- 
heads of sugar, 27,660 puncheons of rum, and 17,962 puncheons of 
molasses. Looking at the comparative value of the exports, the pro- 
duce of the sugar-cane, they were as follows at three decennial 
periods : 




Year. 


Sugar, Molasses. 


Rum. 




1854 
1864 
1874 


£ 

762,778 
1,319,625 
1,980,494 


£ 

11,988 
56,870 
115,186 


£ 

447,280 
247,508 
486,849 



A sugar estate is divided into fields, of from 6 to 10 acres in 
extent, by a series of cross canals, and the method of planting 



SUGAR. 



139 



tlie cane is simple and easy when labour is at command. The brush- 
wood and grass having been cut down and weeded, are piled into 
rows, 6 to 8 feet apart, across the intended beds into which the 
field is to be divided. These beds are formed by digging open 
small drains, 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep, at intervals of every 30 
or 36 feet, across the entire field, beginning within a few yards of 
the canal, in the centre of the estate, and running to the side draining 
trenches, into which they empty themselves. The soil from these 
small drains having been carefully thrown upon the beds, so as to 
raise and round them off in the middle, narrow banks or ridges of 
earth are made across them, from drain to drain, parallel to and equi- 
distant between the rows of grass and brushwood ; and in these 
spaces, between the banks of earth and grass, the canes are planted 
in line, each line being 3 or 4 feet apart, and each cane plant 
9 or 10 inches from the next. The plants are procured by cutting off 
the tops or upper joints of growing canes into lengths of 10 or 12 
inches, which are thrust in a slanting direction into the well-stirred 
ground, and in ten days or so the long grass-like leaves begin to spring 
from the eyes at every joint. These young canes require to be kept 
well weeded, and moulded about the roots from the ridges of earth or 
decaying grass on either side of them, which had been previously pre- 
pared for that purpose ; and this must be repeated as long as there is 
room for the labourers to pass between the rows, which, according to 
the season, will be until the plants have attained the age of six or 
eight months, after which time the spreading of numerous leaves from 
each stock will have covered the surface of the field with so dense a 
jungle as in a great measure to prevent any further growth of weeds. 
When about nine months old, the cane throws out its "arrow," 
a long reed-like stem, surmounted with a tuft of waving downy 
blossom. At this period the plant is poor and weak, and little more 
than a mass of water ; it soon, however, recovers, and in twelve or 
thirteen months from the time of planting is considered at maturity, 
having then sometimes attained a length of 20 to 25 feet, but 
more frequently of 10 or 12 feet, about as thick as the wrist, and 
divided into joints like a bamboo. When ripe, the canes are cut 
down to the very ground, in lengths of 3 or 4 feet, and thrown 
into punts, which are towed along the canal by mules or oxen to the 
wet dock at the door of the sugar mill. Immediately after cutting, 
the large quantity of thrash or dry leaves is rolled clear of the cane 
stumps, and heaped in rows, there to decay and form a rich manure 
for the succeeding crop. In a few days the stumps throw out their 
shoots, and the same routine of cultivation is repeated for twelve 
months more, any vacant spaces where plants may have missed being 
carefully supplied. The canes of the first year are called " plant 
canes," those of the second and subsequent years being distinguished 
as " ratoons" ; and these ratoons have been known to be produced 
from the first plant for twenty years and upwards, the canes having 
been annually cut down and the stumps allowed to shoot again. But 
this continued reproduction from the same stocks, which is now com- 
pulsory on the planter from the scarcity of labour, of course causes 
the canes to degenerate, and to yield less abundantly. An acre of 



140 



SUGAR. 



newly planted land will give two tons of sugar for the first year, 
gradually falling off to not more than one-fourth of that quantity as 
the stocks become old ; and were there sufficient labour in the colony 
to admit of the land being replanted every third or fourth year, there 
can be little doubt that the present crops would be nearly doubled. 
The productive power of the greater part of the soil of British Guiana, 
indeed, appears to be unlimited. As an instance, it may be men- 
tioned that, on an estate in Essequebo, the return obtained in 1851 
from certain lands, which had been properly worked and perfectly 
drained, amounted to a fraction within 4 tons of sugar per acre. 

The plan on which a sugar estate in this colony is laid out is 
described in the first 'Eeport on Thorough Drainage,' by the late 
Dr. Shier, agricultural chemist to the colony, page 16 : 

" The plantations, laid out for the most part by the Dutch, are on a 
uniform plan. They are generally narrow rectangular strips of land, 
with a facade or water frontage on the coast, the rivers, or canals. 
The facade varies from 100 to 300 Khynland rods (12*32 feet). 

"Exceptional cases occur where, from an estate being prevented 
from extending far back, extra fa9ade has been allowed, giving to the 
estate more of a square form. Every estate is bounded by four dams ; 
the front dam, excluding the sea, river, or canal ; the back dam, 
parallel to the former, and excluding the bush water, which, in heavy 
weather, is very considerable, and would inundate the cultivation. 
The clay thrown out in forming the adjacent canals or trenches 
affords the material of which the dams are formed. Along each of 
the remaining sides there runs a dam from front to back. These are 
usually termed side lines. They are common to two contiguous 
estates, and prevent the influx of water from the sides. Thus the 
very long rectangular strip of land is surrounded with dams, which, 
when kept free from bush, answer the purpose of a road round the 
estate ; but the produce is brought to the buildings (often situated in 
front) by canals. In fact, water transport of jDroduce is universal. 
The arrangement of the navigation system is very simple. From 
front to back, and right in the centre of the estate, there runs a dam 
called the middle walk, with a canal on each side of it. These are 
termed centre canals, and are wide enough to admit of two punts 
passing each other. The dam forms a path for the cattle that draw 
the punts. At regular and comparatively short intervals branch 
canals strike off at right angles from the centre canals, and proceed to 
within a rod of the draining or side-line trenches, which are parallel 
to the side dams before described, and adjacent to them. These 
branch canals constitute the transverse boundaries of the fields, and 
navigation canals thus lie on three sides of every field, and admit of 
canes being carried by a short path to the punts. On some estates 
there is only a single centre navigation canal. These canals are 
principally supplied by the rain, but in protracted droughts, and 
especially when they are shallow, they are liable to run short of 
water : hence whenever access can be got to creek, lake, or bush 
water, it is brought from behind to supply the navigation system. 
In other instances salt water has to be taken in from the front when a 
cane crop cannot otherwise be got off the ground. The drainage of 



SUGAE. 



141 



an estate is equally simple. From back to front, and immediately 
adjacent to the side-line dams, run the two main draining trenches, 
generally dug considerably deeper than the navigation canals. The 
small drains, again, cut at distances two to three rods apart, com- 
mence within a bed of the middle-walk side of the field, and terminate 
in the side-line draining trenches, being dug with a fall in that direc- 
tion. The small drains are thus at right angles with the main drain- 
ing trenches. In the front dam the sluices or kokers are placed. 
Sometimes there is only one on an estate, but generally two, one at the 
end of each draining trench. The main draining trenches are gene- 
rally connected together by a trench running along behind the front 
dam." 

The processes employed in the manufacture of sugar are as follow : 

The cane-juice is received from the mill into cisterns or boxes, 
where such a proportion of lime is added as is considered necessary 
for its proper defecation. It is thence run into a series of cast-iron 
vessels called " coppers," which are built into brickwork, and heated 
by the direct action of a single fire in the ordinary manner. In these 
the juice is, as far as possible, cleansed by means of skimming, and 
evaporated down until it has reached that degree of concentration 
technically known as the " striking point," when it is transferred into 
shallow wooden vessels and allowed to crystallize. 

Bisulphite of Lime. — This agent has been used in the manufacture 
for the last eight years, but at the present time much more extensively 
than ever. It is in some cases used even when the ordinary process 
is followed. There are three establishments in or near Georgetown 
for the manufacture of bisulphite of lime, so great is the demand. 
The apparatus for the manufacture of sugar is now wonderfully 
compact and perfect. The improvements likely to be made will, no 
doubt, be in the substitution of shallow evaporating vessels for the 
taches or teaches at present in use. 

As an improvement upon this rude process, separate defecating 
vessels or clarifiers, heated either by steam or by the open fire, have 
been introduced on the majority of estates, and in some instances 
vessels in which the defecating liquor is allowed to subside previous 
to being run into the coppers, have also been used with advantage. 

For upwards of thirty years vacuum pans have been in use on some 
plantations in this colony. Of late years their use has been greatly 
extended, and, from present appearances, it is likely that at no distant 
date no important estate in the colony will be without one. The 
advantages attending the use of the vacuum pan are chiefly these : 

(1) A much more speedy manufacture of sugar than by the ordinary 
process. 

(2) The production of a sugar (grocery quality) which goes directly 
into consumption, without passing through the hands of the refiner. 

(3) The avoidance of all loss from drainage on the homeward 
voyage. 

The loss from drainage of molasses of common process sugars is 
estimated at 10 per cent, of the original weight. 

On plantations where the vacuum pan is used the process may be 
thus stated : As the cane-juice falls from the mill rollers it is mixed 



142 



SUGA.R. 



witli a certain proportion (half per cent.) of bisulphite of lime. It is 
then thrown up to the clarifiers, and boiled by means of steam. A 
due amount of milk of lime is added, and the contents of the clarifier 
allowed to remain at rest (half an hour) till the impurities have 
settled, when the clear juice is run down to the copper wall. In 
some cases filtration through bag filters is practised as the juice 
leaves the clarifier. On some estates the contents of the clarifiers, 
at a boiling temperature, are run into subsiding vessels, in which the 
sediment takes place, from which the juice passes either through bag 
filters or at once to the copper wall. On the copper wall the cane 
juice is evaporated to a density of from 25° to 30° of Beaume's 
saccharometer, when it is either taken directly into the vacuum pan 
or is first passed through bag filters. When the syrup is suffi- 
ciently concentrated in the vacuum pan, i. e. when crystals are formed 
to the satisfaction of the pan boiler, the contents are run into shallow 
wooden coolers, and after a short time transferred in portions to the 
centrifugal machines, in which it is freed from molasses. In some 
cases, while in the centrifugal machines, syrup is used to brighten the 
colour, and in other cases a small quantity of water. The sugar is 
then removed from the centrifugal machines, and at once packed into 
hogsheads. The sugar thus manufactured in this colony is of a pale 
straw colour, uniform crystal (not too large) of great brilliancy, and 
dry. A sugar perfectly white and brilliant could as easily be pro- 
duced. 

From the various improvements introduced, the manufacture of 
sugar is now a very speedy process ; for instances are known where 
from canes in the field in the morning, the sugar has been on ship- 
board before night. 

Sir R. Schombui'gk, in his very interesting pamphlet on British 
Guiana, observes that 8 hogsheads of sugar per acre is an ordinary 
crop, 5000 to 6000 lbs. (53 cwts.) per acre not extraordinary ; and 
that on an estate called "Mary's Hope," on the Courantine coast, 
8000 lbs. = 73^ cwts. have been produced. In British India the 
produce is only from 12 to 15 and 20 cwts. per acre, on the very best 
land. In Trinidad the produce cannot be estimated at less than 
20 cwts. per acre. 

The quantity of rum manufactured in British Guiana is very con- 
siderable. Formerly it was estimated that for every hogshead of sugar 
produced by an estate, there should also be produced a puncheon of 
rum. This estimate still holds good on estates where the ordinary 
process of the manufacture of sugar is practised ; but on estates where 
improved methods with the use of the vacuum pan are followed, the 
quantity of rum does not exceed one-half of the old estimate. The 
great object of proprietors is to extract the largest amount of sugar 
from the cane juice, and diminish as much as possible the production 
of rum and molasses. 

The rum produced does not bring so high a price in the market as 
that of Jamaica, not that less skill is employed in its manufacture, for 
no expense has been spared to obtain the best machinery and make 
use of the best methods. The reason of the inferiority arises chiefly 
from two causes : 



SUGAR. 



143 



(1) From the very impure cane juice obtained from the sugar-cane 
grown in this colony. So much salt still remains in the soil that on 
many estates the presence of salt in the cane juice can readily be per- 
ceived by the taste. 

(2) From being unable to employ water for condensing the spirit 
at a lower temperature than 84° Fahr. 

In Jamaica the spring water brought from the mountains is of a 
much lower temperature. 

On the best estates till recently the whole of the molasses was 
manufactured into rum, but now a good many estates reboil the 
molasses in order to extract all the crystallizable sugar. This, 
however, can only be practised where the vacuum pan is used. 

Formerly the molasses was exported to Great Britain and purchased 
by refiners, but lately a great deal has been sent to the United States, 
where a higher price has been obtained. It may also be stated that a 
considerable proportion of the sugar of the colony has gone to the 
same market. 

Rum when rectified is colourless and possessed of a peculiar odour, 
arising, it is said, from an essential oil contained in the rind of the 
cane, and which finds its way, in the skimmings of the cane juice, 
during its evaporation, in the sweets used in setting up liquor for 
fermentation. Eum is coloured in this colony by caramel prepared 
from good muscovado sugar. 

The proper manufacture of good colouring matter for rum is very 
important. For this purpose the best sugar should be selected, and 
placed in sufficient quantity in a pan on an independent fire. The 
sugar must be constantly stirred with a wooden paddle during the 
action of the fire on the pan, in order to prevent its getting a singed 
taste or flavour ; and when it comes to a consistency, making it difficult 
to keep it in motion with the paddle, the fire must be withdrawn, and 
high wines gradually added to it, under the agitation of the paddle, 
until it comes to a consistency of thick cream, so that the whole will 
be perfectly dissolved. After this, it should be put into a cask placed 
on end, with two cocks, one about 6 inches from the bottom of the 
cask, the other about 2 inches from the bottom, and allowed to 
remain undisturbed, in order to its depositing the sediment left in it, 
until it runs off from the upper cock entirely free from sediment. It 
may then be used for colouring the rum, and about three pints of 
good colouring matter well concentrated ought to be sufficient for 
100 gallons of spirit; but different markets require different shades 
of colour, and to regulate the shade of colour must be left to the 
judgment of the person entrusted therewith. Great care should always 
be taken that the colouring matter does not impart any cloudiness to 
the rum, because when rum is cloudy the value of it is very greatly 
deteriorated. 

I would recommend colouring matter to be made in large quantity, 
because the longer it is kept the purer it becomes.* The strength 
of the rum generally exported from this colony is about 35 per cent, 
overproof. 

French Guiana. — There were in 1874 about 235 hectares cultivated 
* MacRae's ' Planters' Manual.' 



144 



SUGAR. 



with the sugar-cane, and 7 plantations, employing 655 labourers. The 
produce of sugar has fallen off of late years from 420,000 kilos, to 
250,000 kilos., with a little molasses, and 75,000 litres of rum. 

Surinam. — Sugar is the staple product of this Dutch colony, and 
the manufacture is now being actively carried on. 

The following have been the exports for six years : 





Year. 


Sugar. 


Molasses. 


Rum. 






1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 


lbs. 

18,577,826 
21,164,179 
22,593,182 
19,600,220 
22,309,213 
23,709,797 


galls. 
435,933 
523,738 
562,888 
484,266 
380,171 
317,223 


galls. 
75,594 
78,128 
61,374 
58,542- 
90,373 
167,412 





Several of the wealthiest owners of estates have introduced the 
vacuum-pan process, making their sugar thereby, and thus rendering 
it more marketable and of higher value. They have also been 
erecting first-class distilleries on their estates, as, the price of 
molasses being low, they find it more profitable to distil than to sell 
the molasses. 

Brazil. — Sugar is one of the great articles of export from Brazil, 
forming about one-sixth of the total value of the shipments. It has 
not made the same progress that coffee has done ; its culture has indeed 
in some provinces been stationary, owing to the preference given to the 
growth of coffee and cotton, which are for many reasons supposed to 
be more advantageous to the planter, as requiring less capital and 
labour. The culture of the sugar-cane is in general carried on in 
the most primitive manner, and owing to the rudeness of the 
machinery and the want of knowledge of the latest and most 
improved processes of manufacture, the quality of Brazilian sugar 
is, with some few exceptions of note, greatly inferior to that of other 
American countries. However, in this as in most other matters the 
Brazilians are seeking to put themselves on an equality with other 
nations, and many enterprising planters are availing themselves of 
the latest improvements that machinists and scientific men have 
placed at their disposal. The sugar-cane can be grown in almost 
every part of Brazil, but is raised chiefly in the provinces of Kio 
Janeiro, San Paulo, Bahia, Pernambuco, Parahyba, Ceara, Alagoas, 
and Rio Grande do Norte. The exports of sugar were in 

Arrobas (32 lbs.). Arrobas (32 lbs.). 

1843 5,209,721 1863 10,121,719 

1853 10,681,344 1872 9,762,135 



The average annual value of the sugar exported is about 
2,500,000Z. 

The larger planters manufacture their molasses into rum, but 
many of the small growers produce a superior quality of spirit, which 



SUGAR. 



145 



is much prized. The average of the exports of rum in periods of 
six years was as follows : 



Canadas of about | 
I of a gallon. 

1841-46 2,526,200 

1847-52 2,503,373 I 



Canadas of about 
f of a gallon. 

1853-58 2,709,501 

1859-63 (five years) 2 , 569 , 308 



The variety of cane grown by preference now in this country is 
the Salangore, as the Cayenne cane, so long in use, from the negli- 
gence exhibited in its culture, became a victim to the epidemic 
that attacked it, whereby it lost all its saccharine qualities. It is 
said that the Salangore cane gives an amount of saccharine almost 
fabulous ; its vegetation is most luxuriant, requiring little care. But 
all recent introductions in Brazil present the same phenomena at the 
onset, as was the case with the Cayenne cane ; and such new substi- 
tutes will be of little avail if the method and care in its cultivation be 
carried out in the old fashion. 

About seventeen varieties of this plant have been acclimatized and 
cultivated in Brazil, and considerable quantities of plants are an- 
nually distributed to planters by the Imperial Institute of Agri- 
culture here. 

The Salangore cane is now more attacked by the disease than its 
predecessor, and to such a degree that very few districts are exempted 
from that plague. 

The whole belt of soil from the Amazon to San Paulo is suitable 
to the cultivation of the sugar-cane, although it is more fully de- 
veloped in the northern provinces of Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, 
Bahia, and Eio Janeii'o. 

Its cultivation is remunerative, especially the species called Salan- 
gore, which yields 11 to 14 per cent, of juice. In new lands a single 
hectare yields 100,000 kilos, during fifteen months. An active, intel- 
ligent labom'er is supposed to take care of two hectares, which would 
produce 1000 kilos, of sugar, worth 150Z. The cost of production in 
Rio, where wages are high, is about 14/. per hectare, leaving a net 
profit on two hectares of 601. But the profit is greater when the 
condition of the land admits of the use of the plough and other 
improvements. In the manufactui'e of sugar great advantage has 
attended the use of steam as the boiling medium of liquids at a low 
temperature, and that of turbines for the forced clearing of the crys- 
tallized materials. 

The exports of sugar from the port of Bahia in 1866 were about 
48,000 tons, and the average of the preceding twenty-five years was 
only 41,000 tons. The cultivation of sugar in Bahia, incontestably 
at one time the most flourishing in the province, has of late years, 
from the invasion of a malady in the cane, given unsatisfactory 
results, probably through the exhaustion of the soil, upon which crop 
after crop was cultivated, without system or science. There were in 
1871, 1010 registered sugar mills and 700 not registered in the 
province of Bahia. In the adjoining province of Sergipe there were 
700 sugar mills. The production in the province of Bahia in 1870 
was 70,000,000 lbs. of sugar, and over 2,000,000 litres of rum. 



146 



SUGAR. 



The old system of planting, as handed down from colonial days, is 
carried on, but there are indications of an awakening spirit to adopt 
superior methods. Ploughing and manuring, as understood by an 
Englishman, are almost entirely ignored. There are within this pro- 
vince 1345 " engenhos" for manufacturing sugar, besides a great 
number of small growers, who make a coarse sort of sugar (rapadura), 
in ordinary use among the population of the wild extent of this 
country, and not brought to market. 

The progress of sugar production in Brazil is shown by the fol- 
lowing comparative exports : 

Lbs. 

1860-61 143,853,700 

1871-72 312,389,000 

The total quantity made, without considering the inferior products 
of molasses and rapadura, or coarse cake sugar, is estimated at 
617,760,000 lbs. annually. 



Year. 



1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 



Quantity. 



cwts. 
2,264,794 
2,116,767 
2,585,730 
2,316,780 
2,439,404 
2,601,300 
2,665,278 
2,706,305 
2,839,892 



Value. 



2,164,700 
1,624,216 
1,876,816 
1,664,615 
2,280,631 
2,804,651 
2,822,674 
2,330,881 
2,657,735 



The export of sugar from the port of Pernambuco, in bags of 
160 lbs. weight, was as follows : 



1860- 61 730,476 

1861- 62 861,728 

1862- 63 724,784 

1863- 64 712,035 

1864- 65 564,223 

1865- 66 721,955 



1866- 67 537,780 

1867- 68 649,742 

1868- 69 899,424 

1869- 70 796,234 

1870- 71 690,259 



besides 90,045 barrels in the latter year. 

British Honduras. — There are now 9636 acres under crop here. 
The cultivation of the sugar-cane has been steadily progressing, and 
there is little doubt but that it will be the great staple of this colony, 
notwithstanding its many other valuable and important products. 
In 1862, 177J tons were shipped; in 1871, over 2300 tons. 



Year. 


Sugar. 


Euro. 




tons. 


galls. 


1867 


868 


53,714 


1868 


1,025 


39,268 


1869 


1,031 


45,996 


1870 


1,478 J 


49,442 


1871 


2,3203 


65,848 


1872 


2,203 





SUGAR. 



147 



Improved agriculture is wanting ; for the land, if properly tilled, 
is capable of producing as mucli per acre as Denierara and at less 
cost ; for the rivers drain the laud^ and thus save the vast expense of 
both machinery for pumping, and the labour for keeping open 
trenches for drainage absolutely necessary to keep the cultivated land 
above water in Demerara. 

The sugar-cane succeeds very well in most of the countries of 
Mexico and Central America, south of 2S°. The most productive 
plantations are on the declivities of the table-land, and in the lower 
plains to the elevation of 5400 feet above the sea ; but in places well 
sheltered, the sugar-cane grows nearly as high as 7000 feet. These 
plantations are most numerous in the valley of the Eio Santiago, and 
on the plains towards the Pacific. Their produce is very consider- 
able, but nearly the whole of the sugar is consumed in the country. 

Colomhia. — The sugar-cane has hitherto been cultivated in Cartha- 
gena only in small quantities, for making rum and a spirit called 
anisado ; but an enterprising firm planted in 1873 about 300 acres of 
cane, &c., and imported large and jDOwerful steam machinery, at an 
outlay altogether of 20,000/., and they anticipated from their first 
year's crop 10,000 cwts. of sugar. The climate and rich soil are 
peculiarly adapted to the growth of the sugar-cane. The chief 
difficulty is laboui', and they have imported Indian coolies from 
Jamaica. 

Venezuela. — This State has never been a sugar-exporting country, 
and the export which has been carried on may be said to have been 
almost exclusively confined to brown or muscovado sugar, and only to 
have attained any importance for about five-and-twenty years, between 
1830 and 1855. 

The following shows the total exports in periods of five years : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Average Price 
per lb. i 


1832-36 
1837-41 
1842-46 
1847-51 
1852-56 
1857-61 
1862-66 


lbs. 
3,573,222 
2,107,708 
2,894,284 
5,398,267 
465,099 
16,205 
314,580 


cents. i 
5 1 
13f 
llf 

28 



In 1870, owing to a falling off of nearly 30 per cent, in the pro- 
duction of sugar in Cuba in 1869, a remunerative demand suddenly 
sprang up for Venezuela sugar, and large shipments of both musco- 
vado and clayed (papelon) were made to Philadelphia and New York 
at 4^ cents, per pound. As the crops have produced much more than 
could be used locally, the planters are glad of a profitable outlet for 
shipment. In 1873 the export of sugar from Venezuela was close 
upon 5,000,000 lbs. 

Peru. — The sugar-cane grows with the greatest luxuriance, and it 
is sufficient to plant it once to have constant yields from the roots 

L 2 



148 



SUGAR. 



(rattoons). It is very common to see roots of this grass with more 
than twenty vigorous cane stalks. It promptly develops itself, and 
ripens at the end of six or seven months' planting. In the moun- 
tainous parts it is not grown for sugar, but to obtain aguadiente 
(spirit), of which the natives are very fond. 

The sugar manufactured in Peru may be estimated at 720,000 cwts. 
per annum, of which there is sent to Chili 100,000 cwts., to California 
50,000 ; the remainder being used in the country. 

It is produced in the following places, and in the quantities 



named : 

Cwts. 

Pimental and San Jose 160 , 000 

Pacasmayo 120,000 

Malabrizo 120,000 

Huanchaco and other small ports .. 60,000 

CerroAzul 200,000 

Pisco and Lomas 60 , 000 



Total 720,000 



In the valley of Canete, interior to the port of Cerro Azul, which is 
not more than 80 miles south of Callao, are several sugar-cane planta- 
tions, with manufactories for sugar and rum ; these are called 
" haciendos." This valley produces annually sugar and rum worth 
more than 400,000/. There is a sugar refinery in Callao.* 

In 1871 the exports from San Jose de Lambayeque were 58,251 cwts., 
of white crushed, muscovado, and coarse brown sugar. This was 
about the same as the previous year. The crop would have been 
larger but for disastrous floods, which ruined all the small farmers. 

The import of Peruvian sugar into Great Britain is increasing 
rapidly. The following figures give the receipts in each year from 
1870 to 1875, inclusive: 1870, 502,000 lbs.; 1871, 8,700,000 lbs.; 
1872, 13,100,000 lbs.; 1873, 31,900,000 lbs. ; 1874, 47,400,000 lbs. ; 
1875, 100,000,000 lbs. (say = 50,000 hogsheads) ; total for the six 
years, 201,602,000 lbs. 

Louisiana. — In 1759 the first sugar mill was erected in New 
Orleans. In 1834 the produce was 100,000 hogsheads, and in 
1840, 119,947 hogsheads, of 1000 lbs. each; and 600,000 gallons 
of molasses. 

In 1845 there were 762 sugar estates, of which a little more than 
half worked by steam-power, and the rest by horse-power. The crop 
of sugar was 204,913 hogsheads. Of the estates, 757 used the old 
process of open kettles for granulation, and 5 used the vacuo process, 
with its expensive appendages of filters, animal chai-coal, &c. 

In 1853 there were 1481 sugar-houses in operation, of which 943 
worked by steam-power, and 538 by horse-power ; 53 used the vacuo 
process. The crop of sugar was 321,934 hogsheads. 

The sugar interest of Louisiana, which was almost annihilated 
during the war, is again rising to prominence. In 1861 the yield 
was 449,410 hogsheads ; in 1864 it was but 6668 hogsheads, and 
from that time it gradually rose until, in 1869, it was 87,000, and in 
1870, 144,881 hogsheads, which was more than a fair average yield. 

* Mr. Hutchison's Consular Report, 1871. 



SUGAR. 



149 



In 1872-73 the crop was 108,520 hogsheads of sugar, and 8,890,640 
gallons of molasses, made by 1181 sugar-houses. 

The product of a hand on a sugar estate is put down at the cultiva- 
tion of 5 acres, producing 5000 lbs. of sugar, and 125 gallons of 
molasses. Two crops are made in succession on the same land, one 
of plant cane and one of rattoons ; it then lies fallow two years, or is 
planted with Indian corn or peas. An acre yields about 1200 lbs. of 
sugar. The home production of the United States in 1870 was : 



Lbs, 

Sugar from cane, say 87,000,000 

Sugar from maple 28 , 443 , 645 



Total .. .. 115,443,645 



Galls. 

Molasses from cane 6 , 593 , 323 

„ sorghum 16,050,089 

„ maple 921,057 



Total 23,564,469 



The foreign importation of like products in 1873 into the United 
States, as compared with the above, stands thus : Sugar, including 
Melado, 1,567,795,088 lbs. ; molasses, 43,533,909 gallons. 

In June 1872, Mr. Lapice, one of the oldest sugar planters of 
Louisiana, left New Orleans for the Pacific Ocean, for the purpose 
of procuring a fresh supply of sugar-canes for planting, as it had been 
found that the old Creole cane originally introduced by Columbus, and 
generally cultivated in the West India Islands, had degenerated. 
The ribbon cane was brought in by a vessel from Java, and had 
proved hardy. Mr. Lapice, on visiting Singapore, found that the 
ribbon cane had been entirely abandoned, and a new kind from Java 
was in general cultivation. It is of a purple colour, and very small 
light stripes. Another new kind of cane has been introduced into 
Borneo from New Caledonia. At Saigon he obtained some specimens 
of a variety called the elephant cane. The old ribbon cane is being 
cultivated in Madagascar. The result of Mr. Lapice's voyage on 
behalf of the Louisiana sugar planters, was the arrival of a steamship 
with 11,000 cuttings from various new kinds of canes. 

The ' New Orleans Picayune,' writing on the sugar manufacture 
there, observes : 

" It appears that while the sugar-cane contains nearly twice as much 
sugar as the beetroot, in the process of extraction more sugar is 
obtained from the latter than the former. Millions of pounds of 
sugar are thrown away in Louisiana every year. The sugar exists 
in the cane in a crystallized form, and cannot be pressed out. It 
must be dissolved out by water. The fact that the Louisiana sugar 
industry needs the aid of science fully to develop the wealth of the 
State need not be longer concealed. The agriculturists of Europe 
call in science to their aid, and are thus enabled to compete with their 
less enterprising competitors who are blessed with superior natural 
advantages. 

" The following figures are well worthy of perusal. They are from 



150 



SUGAR. 



parties well versed in the subject. The amount of beetroots contained 
in an acre weighs, on an average, 30,000 lbs. The cost of cultivating 
beetroot in Germany is 16*55 francs; the internal revenue, 19*95 
francs — 6 * 70 dollars per ton of 2200 lbs. Cultivation of beetroots 
in France, 18 francs; internal revenue, 32*35 francs — 10*07 dollars 
for 2200 lbs. Percentage of sugar in roots in France, 5 to 12 per cent. 
Percentage of sugar in roots in Germany, 6 to 13 per cent. The 
internal revenue is in France fixed on the juice after it is extracted 
from the beets. In Germany it is levied on the weight of the beets. 
Quantity of sugar manufactured from 100 lbs. of beets in France, 
7 lbs. = 14*28 per cent. Quantity of sugar manufactured from 
100 lbs. of beets in Germany, 8 lbs. = 12*5 per cent. In both 
France and Germany the average per cent, of molasses is 3*33 per 
cent. An acre of sugar-cane (canes that are brought to the sugar- 
house to be manufactured into sugar) costs in culture in Louisiana 
50 dollars. Last season 148,740 acres of canes were taken to the mill 
in Louisiana. The average quantity of canes per acre was, this last 
season, 44,058 lbs., and the cost per 2200 lbs. 2 * 50 dollars. That 
year 6,553,108,807 lbs. of canes were passed through the mill ; the 
juice produced had a density of 8° Beaume, equal to 14*4 per cent, 
of pure sugar per 100 lbs. juice ; but only 12*96 lbs. of sugar for the 
90 lbs. juice contained in 100 lbs. of canes. When the sugar is di^awn 
from the batterie or strike-pan, it contains water of crystallization 
equal to 15 per cent., which, added to the 12*96 of sugar, are thus 
divided : 8*942 sugar, 5*962 molasses — 14*904 per cent. The quan- 
tity of sugar produced last year (1872) in Louisiana, 146,906,125 lbs. 
The quantity of molasses produced last year, 110,219,538 lbs. The 
cost of manufacturing sugar, and the expenses in fuel, hogsheads, 
barrels, freights, commissions, &c., at least 4 cents per lb. of sugar. 
Quantity of sugar that should have been produced was 586,013,250 lbs. ; 
of molasses, 390,675,500 lbs. 

" The question now comes. Can machinery be made that will 
extract the whole of the sugar from the cane? Many of the ma- 
chineries now in use in Europe for the manufacture of beet sugar 
would exhaust almost the whole of the saccharine contained in the 
sugar-cane. But those apparatus cost very high in money, and 
require a great many hands to work them ; presses to operate on 
500,000 lbs. cane in 24 hours would necessitate from 48 to 50 hands 
to attend to them ; to the juice water must be added at the rate of 
25 to 30 per cent. The quantity of sugar left in the pulp, from 
1 to 11 per cent. Diffusion to work the same quantity of cane would 
require, to attend the diffusion vessels, &c., 20 to 25 hands ; some 
20 per cent, of water is added, and the cosettes or slices return ^ per 
cent, of sugar. The use of centrifugals or turbines to displace the 
saccharine from the pulp would be very costly. A sugar-house to 
work 500,000 lbs. (nearly 230 tons) cane per day would require 
115 hands to be all the time on duty. The cost of a beetroot manu- 
factory is from 32,000Z. to 40,000Z., and some run as high as 160,000?., 
200,000/., and even a great deal more. One in the Grand Duchy of 
Baden, ' Wagliausel,' manufactures nearly 60,000 tons of sugar yearly, 
and has cost over 1,000,000Z. Many of the planters are of opinion 
that beetroots would be profitable in Louisiana as a sugar-rendering 



SUGAR. 



161 



plant, and could be cultivated in lieu of the sugar-cane. Sugar could 
not be made from beetroots with the machinery we now possess. Had 
we the machinery wanted to make sugar from beetroots, we would 
then, from one acre of canes, manufacture more sugar than from 
five acres of beetroots. Supposing sugar could be made as cheap 
from beets, could our sugar makers learn how to make the sugars ? 
In Europe almost every sugar manufactory is attended by one or two 
chemists, besides almost every railroad train running to Paris takes 
to Messrs. Dubrunfault and other chemists samples of either roots or 
juice or syrup to be analysed. At the manufactory the juice has a 
density indicating 10 or 12 per cent, of sugar, and the deficiencies are 
so great it is necessary to know wherefrom they come. In every 
factory the beetroots are weighed, all the juice is measured, the density 
recorded and proved at least eight or ten times per day, and the 
percentage called for must be found. It would be very amusing to 
see our planters frying beet-juice ' in our open kettles,' and therefrom 
trying to make sugar. The black stuff coming would rather frighten 
them. Give us sugar-canes yet (although it is said they are degene- 
rated) with deep-drained lands, ' renewed with peas,' thorough deep- 
ploughed land that will produce cane 8 feet long when cut for the 
mill, and weighing 125,000 lbs. (nearly 60 tons) to the acre, if the 
juice be 8^° Beaume = 12,000 lbs. sugar and 8000 molasses ; others may 
cultivate beets. Peligot is right when he says : * If in Europe we had 
the sugar-cane we would furnish sugar to the world, and so cheap as 
to defy competition.' The apparatus used in Cuba will do better than 
either presses or diffusion, the tanks being so constructed that a very 
dense juice is produced. If the mill would give juice at 8° Beaume, 
the displacement apparatus with the same canes would furnish juice at 
8° ' 5 to 9° Beaume. If more fuel is required, it is simply because a 
larger quantity of sugar is produced. Two or three hands can work 
the apparatus. Only one-half of the power is required to slice canes 
that is now used to press the cane with rollers. The bagasse used in 
Cuba contains 13*5 lbs. of sugar to 100 lbs. bagasse (each 100 lbs. 
of canes giving 40 lbs. bagasse, 250 lbs. canes gave the 100 lbs. 
bagasse), and a little over 10 lbs. of the 13*5 lbs. of sugar were 
extracted. Had sliced canes been used instead of bagasse the ex- 
haustion would have been much more complete. In evaporating 
sugar in Louisiana, fuel equal to 1 lb. of coal is used to evaporate 
3 lbs. of water. In Europe 1 lb. of coal evaporates 6 lbs. of water in 
manufacturing beetroot sugar." 

The following details of the sugar-cane, its contents, and the 
manufacture of sugar from it, are well worthy the attention of all 
interested in its culture : 

1210 gallons of juice at 8° '6 Beaume produced on a plantation 
1048 lbs. of sugar and 480 lbs. of molasses. 

One gallon of juice at 8° '5 Beaume will weigh 8*96 lbs. avoir- 
dupois. Therefore, 1240 gallons of juice will weigh 11,111 lbs. 

100 lbs. of cane contain 90 lbs. of juice. Then 11,111 lbs. of 
juice are produced by 12,345 lbs. of cane. 

At 8° -5 Beaume the juice contains 15*3 per cent, of pure and dry 
sugar. If so, 11,111 lbs. of juice, having that density, will produce 
1700 lbs. of sugar. 



152 



SUGAR. 



When the sugar is taken out of the boiler, it is combined with 
water of crystallization, which, being added to the 15*3 per cent, of 
pure and dry sugar = 17 "595 per cent, of sugar and molasses; of 
this, three parts are sugar and two parts are molasses, and we have 
for the 11,111 lbs. of juice at 17*595 per cent. = 1655 lbs., of which 
1173 are sugar and 482 molasses. 

This plainly demonstrates that the loss in the manufacturing was 
427 lbs. of sugar and molasses. Also, we can perceive that with 
11 • 8 lbs. of cane 1 lb. of sugar and • 48 of a pound of molasses were 
produced; that, had there been no loss in manufacturing, 10*5 lbs. 
of cane would have produced 1 lb. of sugar and 0*66 of a pound of 
molasses ; and that, if no molasses had been produced, but the whole 
juice had been converted into sugar, 1 lb. of sugar would have been 
produced by 7*26 lbs. of cane. 

The land, according to quality, can grow or produce in Louisiana 
from 13,000 to 45,000 of canes to the acre ; the length of the cane 
will vary from 3 to 8 feet ; their weight being on an average 10 ozs. 
avoirdupois to the running foot. 

Canes 4*5 feet long, weighing each 3 lbs., and growing 350 per 
row, of 100 feet long, would give 61,125 lbs. to the acre. As an 
average, the acre can be set down at 60,000 lbs. 

When canes are cut before they are injured by the cold, they can 
be kept for making sugar from three to four months. They lose 
some of their water of vegetation ; the sugar does not change in the 
least, and stays in perfect preservation. 

May 9th, 1873. — Seven months ago, that is, in October, 1872, canes 
were cut to plant ; the sugar in those canes is yet in perfect preserva- 
tion, and the juice has a density of 8° Beaume. 

The joints of a cane that has dropped its leaf contain only crystal- 
lizable sugar. The buds, or young suckers of the joints, produce 
the larger part of the colouring matter found in the juice. In 
Louisiana the density of the cane juice varies from 6° to 10° Beaume ; 
8° • 5 Beaume being the average ; 15*33 per cent, of pure, dry sugar. 

With displacement of methodical washings, the sugar contained in 
the sugar-cane can be easily exhausted. When thoroughly defecated, 
the juice of the cane is very easily manufactured into sugar, and the 
whole of the sugar-cane can be made to crystallize. 

The planters require from 35 to 55, and even more, pounds of cane 
to make 1 lb. of sugar, and 0*66 of a pound of molasses. The 
average for the State is 2*25 lbs. of sugar and 1 • 50 lb. of molasses 
to 100 lbs. of cane. Thus 100 acres, or 6,000,000 lbs. of cane, are 



equal to 

$ $ 

135,000 lbs. of sugar, at 8 c 10 , 800 

90,000 lbs. molasses, at 4 c 3,600 

. 14,400 

Expenses, culture 5,000 

Manufacture 5 , 400 

Taxes, overseer, engineer, &c 2,000 

12,400 



Total $2,000 



SUGAR. 



153 



We have demonstrated that 10*5 lbs. of cane can easily produce 
1 lb. of sugar and • 66 of a pound of molasses. Then 6,000,000 lbs. 
of cane will produce equal to 

$ c. $ c. 

571,428 lbs. of sugar, at 8 c 45,713 24 

380,952 lbs. molasses at 4 c 15,238 08 

. 60,951 32 

Expenses, culture 5 , 000 00 

Manufacture 11,951 32 

Taxes, overseer, engineer, &c. . . 2 , 000 00 

18,951 32 



Total $42,000 00 



6,000,000 lbs. of cane manufactured into sugar of firsts, seconds, 
&c., would produce (white sugar) 

$ $ 

750,000 lbs. of sugar, at 12 c 91 ,200 

140,000 lbs. molasses, at 3 c 4,200 

95,400 

Expenses 25,400 



Total $70,000 



Concrete sugar contains 10 per cent, less water than ordinary 
sugars, which usually have sugar three and molasses two parts. Thus 
6,000,000 lbs. of cane manufactured into concrete would produce 
867,610 lbs. of sugar at the price of some 7 cents per pound, or 
^60,725 ; less expenses, ^20,725 = ^40,000. 

India. — A few particulars regarding the earliest development of 
the sugar industry will not be found uninteresting. The sugar-cane 
is a native of India and Indo-China, where it was exclusively culti- 
vated from remote ages down to the middle of the thirteenth century. 
At this period the trade extended itself into the countries beyond the 
Ganges, and the cultivation was speedily taken up in Arabia, Syria, 
and Egypt. Gradually the plant was introduced into Cyprus and 
Sicily, and thence into Madeira and the Canary Islands, ere long 
becoming in Spain and France a favourite object of culture. In the 
beginning of the sixteenth century, the sugar-cane was imported into 
St. Thomas and St. Domingo, where its culture was rapidly deve- 
loped, and a systematic trade established in those colonies. 

The sugar-cane was doubtless known in India from time immemo- 
rial, and grown for food, as it still is in the present day, chiefly in 
those regions which are unsuited for the manufacture of sugar. From 
the elaborate investigations of Hitter, it appears that it was originally 
a native of Bengal and of the Indo-Chinese countries, as well as of 
Borneo, Java, Bali, Celebes, and other islands of the Malay Archipe- 
lago. But there is no evidence that it is now found anywhere in a 
wild state. 

The extraction of the juice from the cane — the first step toward the 
manufacture of raw sugar — was, in early times, effected by the rudest 
appliances. The stump of a tree, the upper part of which was carved 



154 



SUGAR. 



into a rude resemblance of a human head, was regarded as a deity, 
which enabled the ancestor of the poor ryot of the present day to 
obtain the juice which would yield the much-prized sweet crystals. 
Into the hole representing the mouth of the figure, or into one made 
lower down, was inserted the end of a long pole, which served as a 
lever to crush the juice from a piece of cane placed between it and 
the stump.* The Buck Indians or Caribs of British Guiana, it is 
curious to remark, now employ an almost exactly similar contrivance 
for a like purpose, f 

This ineffective method gave place to one by which the juice was 
crushed out in a mortar. The primitive mill still used in Dinajpur 
is an adaptation of this plan, and is constructed as follows. A sound 
tamarind tree being selected, it is cut down at about two feet from the 
ground, where it may be a foot and a half or more in diameter. The 
stump is then hollowed out in the form of a mortar, and from the 
bottom of the hollow a hole is bored a little way perpendicularly. 
The exterior of the stump is next pierced by a hole which meets the 
previous boring obliquely, and thus affords an outlet for the juice, 
which runs into a strainer fixed over an earthen pot sunk in the 
ground amongst the roots of the tree. The pestle, it is to be observed, 
does not pound the pieces of cane, but crushes or squeezes them. It 
consists of the trunk of a tree some 18 or 20 feet in length, and about 
a foot in diameter, rounded off at the larger end, which is placed in 
the hollow of the mortar in an inclined position. A pair of oxen are 
yoked to a horizontal pole, which is supported at the outer end by a 
bamboo hanging by a notch made in the root end from the upper and 
smaller end of the long pestle, while the other end is attached by a 
loop to a bamboo hoop which encircles the stump, and thus acts as a 
runner. The pestle, therefore, forms a double-armed lever, the ful- 
crum of which is situated at the edge of the mortar, the cane being 
crushed between the sides of the pestle and mortar respectively. The 
force with which the pestle acts is increased by the driver sitting 
upon the outer extremity of the horizontal pole, and sometimes by 
M-eights being added. Such a machine, however, is totally ineffectual 
to crush the cane until it has been first cut into small pieces. To 
this end a bamboo stake is driven firmly into the ground, and a deep 
notch made in the end projecting upwards. The attendant i)asses the 
canes through this notch, which slits them longitudinally, while he 
cuts off the slit canes, in lengths of about a foot each, with a rude 
chopper. 

The sugar mill of Chinapatam is a slight improvement. Instead 
of the standing stump of a tree being used, which could only be done 
when a suitable tree grew on the desired spot, the mortar is carefully 
fashioned out of the trunk of a tree some 10 feet long, 8 feet of 
which is firmly embedded in the ground. The hollow, for two-thirds 
of the depth, is in the shape of an inverted truncated cone, the 

* The STigar-cane appears to be referred to in the Rig- Veda, probably the most 
ancient work known in the world, and in the Mahabharata. The Agni-Purana also 
contains a reference to the art of sugar-boiling. 

t Kev. W. H. Brett's ' Indian Tribes of Guiana ' contains a coloured plate repre- 
senting Caribs crushing sugar-cane in this manner. 



SUGAR. 



156 



remaining third being cylindrical, with a hemispherical projection at 
the bottom, like the lower part of a common beer bottle. A forked 
branch of a tree is worked down, Kobinson Crusoe-like, to a beam 
or plank some 4 or 6 inches in thickness, and varying from near 
18 inches in breadth at the single end to less than a foot at the 
forked ends, when, by-the-way, it has much the appearance of a 
monster boot-jack. This beam is placed horizontally with the hollow 
against the mortar, and the bullock-driver sits on the undivided end 
to which the cattle are attached, while the beam turns round the 
mortar like a screw-key which if too large would slip round a nut. 
The pestle is a piece of hard wood of the usual form, which is pressed 
down by a beam, one end of which is attached either directly over or 
near above the undivided end of the lower beam. There is a hollow 
on the under side of this upper beam immediately over the mortar, in 
which rests the top of the pestle, the other extremity being pulled 
downwards by cords attached to the forked ends. By tightening or 
slackening these cords, the upper beam acts as a regulating lever to 
give the pestle more or less force. The whole arrangement, when at 
rest, has very much the appearance of a huge lime-squeezer. 

The transition from the arrangement last described to the vertical 
wooden roller mill now in use at Chica Ballapura, and in other parts 
of India, was but natural. We find in this mill the same idea of a 
lever pressing upon the top of the pestle applied to another purpose, 
in the beam which is fixed to the top of the longer of the two rollers 
which projects above the framework in which they are placed. The 
other roller, which is only the height of the frame, is turned by the 
four spiral grooves and ridges at the upper end being jammed against 
corresponding grooves and ridges on the long roller. The transmis- 
sion of motion by means of the cog-wheels of modern times is thus 
seen to have had its origin, probably many centuries before the 
Christian era, among the ancient inhabitants of India. * 

To place two such cylinders of hard wood in a frame, horizontally 
instead of vertically, so that they could be turned by two men, one at 
each end, and could be easily moved from place to place, was the 
simplest way of meeting the requirements of those who had but little 
cane to squeeze. Its cheapness, however (it can be made for two rupees, 
ds.), was probably the greatest inducement to its adoption. Such 
mills are in common use near Calcutta. They are almost universally 
employed by the Chinese, amongst whom they are conveyed from 
place to place, along the rivers and canals in the sugar districts, by 
migratory sugar boilers. Being temporarily erected in some central 
spot, where the produce of several farms can be conveniently brought, 

* See Reports from the officers of the East India Company on the cultivation of 
sugar-cane in Hindostan. Dr. Roxburgh, Mr. Touchet, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Peddington, 
Dr. Teunant, Mr. Prinsep, Captain Sleeman, Dr. Wallich, Dr. Buchanan, Mr. Haines, 
Mr. G. H. Smith, and others, ' Asiatic Society's Journal,' ' Transactions of the Agri- 
Horticultural Society,' and Parliamentary Report from the select committee appointed 
to inquire into the matter contained in the petition of the East India Company, com- 
plaining of the imposition of duties on East India produce. A woodcut of each of these 
three kinds of mills may be found in Ure's ' Dictionary of Ai'ts, Manufactures, and 
Mines,' sixth edition, vol. iii. ; and of the two last in ' Chambers's Encyclopaedia,' 
vol. viii. 



156 



SUGAR. 



the workmen are kept in constant employment until the canes near at 
hand are all cut, and another move becomes necessary.* 

We thus find, in the records of the ancient arts of Hindostan, roller 
mills for crushing cane, both vertical and horizontal, which are barely 
improved amongst the same people at the present day, and are exact 
prototypes of the machinery now in use. 

The first mills used in more modern times were known as edge- 
mills, and are now chiefly used for crushing oil-seeds, apples (in 
cider districts), and in tanneries. A large heavy wheel, generally of 
stone, was made to revolve vertically upon its edge in a small circular 
area some 8 or 10 feet in diameter, by cattle or wind power. The 
pieces of cane were strewed in the concave path of the wheel, and the 
juice flowed away by a channel formed for the purpose. Pere Lafitau 
relates the donation to the Convent of St. Benoit by William II., 
King of Sicily, of such a mill for crushing sugar-canes, along with 
its privileges, workmen and dependencies, which remarkable gift 
bears the date 1166.t 

In the next century we find mention of the use of vertical wooden 
rollers in Europe, the introduction of which is generally attributed 
to Gonzales de Velosa. In the fifteenth century their use crept to 
Madeira and the Brazils. Early in the century following roller mills 
were established in Hayti and in other places contemporaneously with 
the spread of cane cultivation. The old vertical wooden mill is still 
to be found in many places in the West Indies and elsewhere ; and 
more than one may now be seen at no great distance from Port-of- 
Spain, Trinidad. 

From wooden rollers to those of stone and then of iron the progres- 
sion was unavoidable. Many examples of stone roller vertical mills 
are still in existence, while vertical mills with iron rollers are, even 
now, comparatively common. Ligon states that when he visited Bar- 
bados in 1647, the planters were ignorant of many things, and 
amongst others he mentions " the true way of covering their rollers 
with plates or bars of ii*on." J This information, it appears, they 
obtained from Fernambuck (Pernambuco), in Brazil, whence they had 
gotten plants." 

Cattle gave place, subsequently, to wind and water power, both of 
which are still largely used in remote districts. As recently as 1848 
a mechanical engineer found it necessary to call the attention of the 
planters of Trinidad to the superior advantages of steam-power, 
which at that time seemed not to be fully appreciated. § The use of 
steam has enabled boiling houses to be erected, and consequently 
estates to be established, in situations where it had been impossible 
to do so previously. Its employment as the motive power in estates' 
boiling houses may now be said to be general, although it offers a 

* Sir George Staunton's ' Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great 
Britain to the Emperor of China,' 1797. 

t ' History des Decouvertes et Conquetes des Portugais.' 

X 'History of Barbados,' 1650. See also Houghton's 'Husbandry and Trade,' in 
the papers issued from Friday, June 17 (No. cccviii), to Friday, September 2 
(No. cccxix), 1698. 

§ See advertisement and correspondence in the * Port-of-Spain Gazette ' for that 
year. 



SUGAR. 



157 



method of economizing labour in many operations to which it has 
been seldom or never applied as yet, the advantages of which, even at 
the present day, remain to be estimated at their true value. 

Within the last thirty or forty years mechanical engineers have 
brought the old model horizontal roller mill to the highest state of 
perfection. The first letters patent ever issued in England, in con- 
nection with sugar manufacture, were granted to " Willoughby, 
Francis, Lord; Hyde, Laurence; and De Marcato, David," for the 
" makeinge and frameinge of sugar mills ;" and are dated and num- 
bered A.D. 1663, February 4 — No. 141. Mills have since been made 
of three, four, and five rollers ; but those consisting of three rollers 
have been found to give the best results with the least expenditure 
of power. Since the above date, upwards of 80 patents have been 
taken out relating to machinery for extracting the juice from the 
sugar-cane, all of which, with some dozen or so of exceptions, are 
merely adaptations of, or improvements in connection with, roller 
crushing mills. 

The inspissation of the Juke appears to have been carried on in India 
from the earliest times of which any account is discoverable. Al- 
though the mill was universally without shelter, the boiling apparatus 
on the other hand was invariably covered by a shed. The range con- 
sisted of a series of (generally) eleven earthen boiling pots, suspended 
between two parallel mud walls about 20 feet long, 2 feet high, and 
18 inches apart, the interstices between the pots being filled in with 
clay. A flue was thus formed, at one end of which was a large 
circular iron pan, exactly like the present copper, under which was 
the fireplace — a hole dug in the ground. The iron pan served as 
the teache. 

The arrangement just described has undergone no alteration or 
improvement up to the present day ; neither has the process adopted, 
which is as follows: After the juice has been concentrated to the 
consistence of sling — goor or jaggery as it is termed — it is placed in 
pots and handed over by the ryot, or farmer, to the goldar, or sugar 
boiler. When it has to bear carriage a long distance it is further 
concentrated by the ryot, until it resembles an inferior description of 
concrete. By the goldar the pot extract is put into bags of coarse 
gunny or sack-cloth, which are hung over a number of large earthen 
vessels, and on water being sprinkled on the tops of the bags the 
molasses drains away by displacement. The sugar from the bags is 
then mixed with water in a pan like a large copper, sunk in a 
cylindrical cavity in the ground which serves as a fireplace. After 
being allowed to boil for a short time, an alkaline solution prepared 
from the ashes of the plantain tree is added, and subsequently some 
milk. The liquor is next strained through cotton, and the former 
process is repeated until a sufficient concentration has been attained. 
It is then poured into earthen pots with curved sides, large at the 
top and pointed at the bottom where they are plugged with a plantain 
leaf, and placed in a curing shed on a wooden grating at some little 
distance from the ground. Here they are allowed to drain into 
vessels placed underneath. A layer of moist leaves of the Valisneria 
spiralis is placed on the top, which after some time is removed, and, 



168 



SUGAR. 



the crust being broken, fresli leaves are added, and the process is 
repeated until complete crystallization has taken place. 

There is one fact which must strike the most casual inquirer into the 
early history of sugar manufacture in its birthplace, and it is one to 
which the attention of the reader may here be directed. The raw 
produce, which goes by the name of goor or jaggery, is made chiefly 
by a number of farmers acting in concert. The process is carried 
out in common by the association, but is specially deputed to some of 
their number who confine themselves to this branch, the produce of 
each man's land being sent to the common factory. The goor is 
then handed over by the ryots to another distinct caste, the goldars, 
who make the solid sugar, some of whom again are sugar-boilers or 
refiners, and others confectioners, who make candy, &c. The vital 
principle of division of laboui' is thus most strictly carried out, the 
whole manufacture involving at least the employment of two sections 
of one caste, and, where it is largely followed, two distinct castes and 
no less than five or six sub-classes, which implies its division into as 
many different branches. 

The following account is given by Baboo Joykishen Mookerjee, 
a zemindar of Hooghly : "Two species of sugar-canes, known in this 
country as the kajlee and the pooree canes, have from time immemorial 
been cultivated in this district (Burdwan). These canes always gave 
the cultivators very good returns, and their cultivation therefore, in 
former times, gradually increased with the increased demand of sugar 
for exportation. 

" Whether these crops were native to the soil or merely accli- 
matized is not known ; but no account of the total failure of these 
canes, such as was the case with what were called the Bombay canes, 
can be gathered from the accounts of the oldest inhabitants. More 
than forty years ago Mr. McDowal introduced the red canes from the 
district of Rungpore, and they were thence called the Shahiban 
Khooshir. The cultivation of this species of cane spread very 
rapidly, as the cultivators found that they yielded more juice and 
contained more saccharine matter than the country ones ; and in 
about eight years it spread gradually over Hooghly in common with 
the other southern districts. About the same time, that is, nearly 
thirty-five years ago, the red or Bombay cane was introduced in the 
district from Nimgee Bungalow, a place a few miles from Calcutta. 
It was at first cultivated at Bally, Ooterparah, Eughoonathpore, and 
their neighbourhood, but in a few years the cultivation gradually 
extended to the banks of the Damoodah, close to Pergunnah Chunder- 
kona. A very great impetus was given to the cultivation of sugar- 
cane in this and the other districts by the large diminution in the 
supply of sugar from Mauritius and the West Indies, in consequence 
of the restrictions imposed about this time on the slave trade and slave 
laboui'. For more than fifty years the cultivators reaped luxui'iant 
harvests of the Shahiban and Bombay sugar-canes, and improved 
their condition to no small extent. Brick-built houses sprang up in 
every direction, and the condition of a large portion of the tenantry 
was altogether very cheering. In 1854 and 1855, however, the first 
symptoms of the blight, which totally exterminated these valuable 
crops from the district, first made their appearance. A few cane 



SUGAR. 



159 



bushes here and there appeared withered during the first year. This 
did not attract much attention, but the next year the cultivators were 
alarmed at the destruction of about two-thirds of the crop, and 
although every means that lay in their power were had recourse 
to to save the crops from the DJwosha (sugar-cane blight), the 
attempt was entirely fruitless. After an inefficient struggle for more 
than three years, the cultivation of both these descriptions of 
sugar-cane was given up in despair and the ryots had to fall back 
on the cultivation of their own country canes, the hajlee and the 
pooree. After the extinction of the highly paying descriptions of 
canes, the ryots had not much heart to cultivate the inferior de- 
scriptions of cane ; but they had not long to mourn for the 
extinction of their valuable crops, for in about the year 1860-61, 
the shamshara cane, which is nearly equal to the extinct descriptions, 
was introduced in this district. The cane is believed to have been 
imported from Otaheite. Its cultivation has steadily increased, and 
the quality of the cane has evidently improved by reason of the great 
care taken in its cultivation and of the large expense that is incurred 
in manuring the soil and irrigating the crops. A short account of 
the cultivation of sugar-cane in this district was published in the 
' Agricultural and Horticultural Society's Journal,' vol. ix, part 3, 
of 1857, pages 353-358. It would be worth while to ascertain 
whether the importation of new seed or plants of the Bombay cane 
might not have the effect of restoring its cultivation." 

Of all agricultural products sugar-cane requires the most care. 
Before filling a plantation the ground must be ploughed at least 
ten times ; manured and left fallow for a whole year. In the second 
year, when the time of planting approaches, beds two yards square 
are prepared by kneading the soil till it acquires the consistency 
of mud. Ten heads of sugar-cane are then buried horizontally in 
each plot and well covered with the moist earth, which is allowed to 
dry for ten or twelve days or until cracks appear. Each cane-head 
planted has four or five joints, and from each of these a shoot springs 
twenty days after planting. From this time till the cane is ready for 
cutting, fresh water is admitted every four days. In three months the 
shoots attain the height of a yard, and at this stage it is usual for the 
outside leaves to be carefully wrapped and bound round the stalk as 
a support and protection. Later on, further support in the shape of 
a bamboo fifteen feet long to two canes, is added, and thenceforth the 
canes require to be tied afresh to the bamboo every six weeks as 
their height increases. The cutting commences a year from the time 
of planting. In some districts a large expenditure is incurred in 
fencing the gardens to keep out jackals, which are exceedingly partial 
to the sweet cane. For this purpose as many as 60,000 bamboos are 
required for a plantation of eight acres. The canes to be used for 
sugar and jaggery are taken direct from the field to a large open 
shed, where they are passed through a press composed of two circular 
pieces of hard wood made to revolve by rude machinery worked 
by bullocks. When about twenty chatties of juice have been ob- 
tained the boiling begins and lasts for an hour. To each boiler 
of juice a viss of lime is added. When boiled the mixture is 
poured into an iron vessel, and after being stirred for a while is 



160 



SUGAR. 



poured out again on a mat, on which the sugar dries and becomes 
hard. It is then broken up and packed for market in baskets of five 
maunds each. 

The goor of the Sahitru districts in Sinde varies in appearance and 
substance from that of other parts. It is remarkably hard, and 
requires some exertion to break it, and is at the same time of a very- 
deep colour. This is doubtless owing to the nature of the sugar-cane, 
which is quite difierent from that of Southern India. It is a thin, 
cane-like plant, seldom much thicker than a small finger, very hard, 
and yielding little juice, so that to see the business of expressing the 
juice therefrom, one would imagine it scarcely worth the trouble. 
The flavour of the goor, however, is good. A superior kind of native 
spirit is made from this goor, which is very generally drunk by all 
classes without exception, although strictly forbidden in Mahomedan 
and Hindoo law. There are several kinds of it, which vary in price 
according to quality. The liquor is, however, intrinsically the same, 
the good or bad quality of it depending upon the quantity and variety 
of spices added to it. 

Several varieties of sugar-cane are cultivated as the country cane, 
the original form of the species ; the ribbon cane, with purple or 
yellow stripes along the stems ; the Bourbon or Tahiti cane, a more 
elongated, stronger, more hairy, and very productive variety. Sac- 
charum violaceum, Juss., the Batavian cane, is also considered to be 
a vai'iety ; but the larger S. cTiinense, Eoxb., introduced from Canton 
in 1796 into the Botanic Gardens of Calcutta, may be a distinct 
species ; it has a long, slender, erect panicle, while that of S. offici- 
narum is hairy and spreading, with the ramifications alternate and 
more compound, not to mention other differences in the leaves and 
flowers. 

In the Madras Presidency in 1870 there were 29,000 acres under 
sugar-cane ; the largest quantity was grown in Bellary, the next in 
Ganjam and Cuddapah. 

The following have been the quantities of sugar exported from 
British India : 

Cwts. 

1865 477,099 

1866 428,341 

1867 221,006 

1868 93,187* 



1869 450,051 



Cwts. 

1870 385,638 

1871 345,300 

1872 419,282 

1873 671,659 

1874 337,465 



• And 1345 bags. 

Siam. — Next to rice, sugar is the largest article of export from 
Siam. Nachonyhaisi and Petno are the principal sugar districts ; 
but it is also produced at Paklat, Bangpasoi, Chantibon, and 
Petchabure in considerable quantities. The owners of the mills 
seldom cultivate the canes themselves, but purchase them standing 
in the fields from the growers, who have usually money advanced 
to them by the mill-owners at the commencement of the season, to 
enable them to plant on their ground, they in retui'n being bound to 
sell all their canes at a fixed price to the person lending the money, 
besides paying interest at the usual rate. The cultivation of the 



SUGAR. 



161 



sugar-cane has greatly iucreased. It is mostly in the hands of the 
Chinese. 

The extraction of the juice from the canes and its manufacture 
into sugar are carried on in a very primitive manner, without any of 
the modern improvements to obtain from the cane the largest possible 
quantity of a superior quality of sugar. The greatest quantity of 
sugar is made in the neighbourhood of Bangkok and the adjacent 
provinces, to where the tidal waters extend. Here irrigation in cases 
of drought may be carried on with the greatest convenience ; and 
were there sufficient labouring hands to attend to its cultivation, ten 
times the quantity of sugar now produced might be raised in those 
localities to which the tidal waters extend, setting aside other places 
appropriate to its cultivation. With better machinery the manu- 
facture might be greatly improved, and the culture is very careless. 

White or clayed sugar, red unclayed, and yellow, are the three 
descriptions brought to market. The yellow is always deficient in 
grain. Most of it comes from up the country, and from Chantibon ; it 
seems to be a peculiar description of sugar, and the Chinese manu- 
facturers say they are unable to granulate it ; it is usually pretty dry. 

The best sugar is procurable in March and April, that which is 
made in the two following months is mostly from the second boiling 
and is much lower in quality. The quantity produced in each of the 
years 1857 and 1858 was about 100,000 piculs. In 1862 the ship- 
ments were 82,700 piculs, being 47,000 piculs less than a five years' 
average. The exports in 1867 amounted to 137,532 piculs ; the 
greater part was sent to China ; in 1870 the shipments were 101,307 
piculs. Palm sugar is manufactured to a considerable amount at 
Pitchabure, but it is all consumed in the country. This is not the 
same as the date sugar known in Europe. 

A company called the Indo-Chinese Sugar Company was esta- 
blished here a few years ago, who received a large grant of 3000 
acres from the Government at a yearly rental of 2s. Sd. per acre for 
the land under cultivation. The inland duty on sugar has been 
reduced to 9d. per picul on white and 4^(^. on brown. Instead of the 
old hoe system of cultui'e, steam ploughs and cultivators have been 
introduced, and large sugar mills on the newest principles erected. 

China. — Although we have no data to guide us as to the sugar 
production of China and the local consumption, yet by going through 
the trade returns of the several ports, we glean some idea of the export 
trade as shown in the shipments for 1871, which were as follows : 

Piculs. 

Svatow, brown 461,420 

„ white 516,595 

Canton 316,183 

Shanghai 538,533 

Amoy 194,406 

Formosa, brown 560,510 

white 26,544 

Chefoo 7,930 

Total 2,622,121 

Equal to about 3,277,000 cwts. 

M 



162 



SUGAR. 



The imports of native sugar at the other ports for the same year 



were as follows : 

Piculs. 

Ningpo 87,000 

Kiukiang, foreign 22,075 

native 16,000 

Chefoo 394,285 

Tientsien 325,647 

Newchang 80,042 

Hankow 283,010 

Ohinkiang 285,149 



Total 1,493,208 



Or in round numbers about 1,866,500 cwts. 

The following shows the coasting trade carried on. Sugar sent in 
foreign vessels from one port to another : 



Year. 


Outwards. 


Inwards. 


1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 


piculs. 
1,339,874 
1,198,522 
1,145,279 
1,762,390 
1,435,625 


piculs. 
1,973,136 
1,574,554 
1,425,457 
2,099,836 
2,002,567 


Total 


6,881,690 


9,075,550 


Average 


1,376,838 


1,815,110 


In cwts. 


1,720,422 


2,268,900 



Mauritius. — This is now one of the principal British sugar-growing 
colonies. About 1750, the sugar-cane was first introduced into the 
Mauritius. In the commencement, it made but little progress, but 
as the cane began to be better appreciated, its cultivation increased 
with marvellous rapidity until it has now become the chief, almost 
exclusive, resource of the island. The white cane which is in- 
digenous to the islands of the Pacific is said to have been first 
planted in the Mauritius, but the disease with which this variety had 
been attacked, considerably restricted in after years its cultivation. 
Of twenty varieties which have been introduced at different periods, 
the following six are said to be the most commonly cultivated in the 
island : 

The white cane of Otaheite. 
The bamboo, or cane of Batavia. 
The Guinghan, or violet-striped cane. 
The Bellouguet, or purple Java cane. 
The Pinang cane. 

The Diard cane, with which the white Bellouguet is generally confounded. 

The last is a recent importation from Batavia. It is a hardy plant, 
thrives well with moderate care and attention, produces a greater 
quantity of stems than the white cane ; but does not hold in the 



SUGAR. 



163 



ground so well, which is a disadvantage in a climate subject to high 
winds and hurricanes. It yields well both in respect of the number 
of canes and the quantity of juice, which is superior in quality to that 
of most of the other species. 

The Pinang cane is a very fine species, producing, after the 
Otaheite, the longest and thickest canes, but it does not, like the 
Diard and some other species, give so many stems. It is a tender 
plant, somewhat impatient of and requires a great deal of care. 

There are two species of Bellouguet, the one white, the other I'ed. 
Both species, like the Diard, give a great many stools and require 
a great deal of room to allow for spreading, without which the stems 
grow meagre; but planted wide apart and carefully tended this 
species will produce well. The white is preferred to the red, on 
account of the superior quality of the sugar made from it. The 
red gives a sap strongly coloured. It is very difficult to remove 
this colouring matter, which injures the quality of the sugar. Both 
species require sheltered situations to come to perfection. Their 
roots growing laterally and horizontally they have no hold in the 
ground. The great quantity of stems they produce offers a larger 
surface to the action of a high wind than the roots are calculated 
to bear ; they are therefore easily uprooted, and considerable loss 
is the consequence. 

The Bamboo cane is the hardiest of all the species ; but it is 
not much admired, owing to its partaking partly of the nature of 
the reed from which it derives its name. The stem is hard and 
dry ; but in exposed situations and in marshy ground it grows 
well and produces a fair return. It requires less attention and 
stands drought very well. The quality of the sugar made from 
the juice of this cane is inferior. 

There are many other species cultivated ; but none are of suf- 
ficient importance to require separate mention. In good soil, canes 
may, with attention and good manure, be cut for six or seven seasons 
running without its being requisite to replant. This is considered 
the longest time canes will yield a profitable return in the best soils, 
in the lower portion of the district. In the higher parts, the cane 
plant is never expected to last more than three seasons, and only 
two on poor soils, or where stones are common. 

Mr. J. Horne, the sub-director of the Eoyal Botanical Gardens, 
Mauritius, in his valuable Report for 1875, states that the intro- 
duction and propagation of new varieties of the sugar-cane have 
been given up, for the present at least. It has been of good 
service to the colony, and, instead of the sugar crops depending 
upon the health of three or four varieties of the sugar-cane, the 
planters have now a choice of nearly one hundred. These are not 
all good canes, and some of them are better adapted .to certain 
localities than others. At the propagating grounds, where they 
were well watered, manured, and attended to, nine or ten of the 
varieties proved to be positively bad. These were either very 
subject to disease of various forms, or deficient in saccharine, or 
they did not ratoon freely after being cut once or oftener, or 
they produced few (five or six) canes to the plant. Two of 

M 2 



164 



SUGAR. 



each variety have been planted in reserve ground in the gardens, 
in order that none of them should be lost to the colony. A 
great matter is the choice of healthy cane tops for planting. 
None but tops of the most vigorous and healthiest canes should be 
selected. Through neglect of this, the canes deteriorate, till at last 
whole fields come to be planted with cane tops which are unhealthy 
and positively diseased. The Sandwich Islands, and perhaps New 
Guinea, are the places to which the planters of Mauritius will have 
to look for new varieties, more prolific, hardy, and healthy than 
those they now possess. In the Sandwich Islands the sugar-cane is 
said to be indigenous, and there are thirty-five to forty varieties, of 
which only two are in Mauritius. One variety, called " Puol- 
lese," has been known to yield an average, per acre, of 12,000 lbs. = 
6 hhds. of No. 16 sugar, on an extent of 30 acres of good land, which 
had been irrigated. It is reported to be hardy and to grow freely, in 
its native country, at an elevation of 2000 feet above the sea. 

The principal improvements made in the manufacture are the 
vacuum pan, of which two are now at work, and the centrifugal 
drying machines, of which there are many at work, particularly in 
the higher parts of the district, where, from the nature of the 
climate, they are indispensable. The advantages of both are un- 
deniably great. Samples of sugar made with the two improvements 
combined show that sugar can be made directly from the cane juice 
which will bear comparison with the best refined sugars : the crystals 
are larger, better defined, and when "clairced" are perfectly white, even 
without the aid of animal charcoal. The superiority of these methods 
over all others is incontestable. The sugar far exceeds in quality 
sugar made in any other way : it is made, dried, and is ready for 
shipment the day after the operation is commenced. All the incon- 
veniences of the old system, which required at least fifteen days 
to perform what is now done in forty-eight hours, have vanished. 
Enormous purging houses with all the necessary encumbrances of 
casks, " caissons," &c., are no longer required. The syrup, which 
formerly remained in large tanks till it was fermented and unfit for 
any other purpose than to make rum, is now converted into sugar im- 
mediately, and almost all the crystallizable portion at once obtained. 

The improvement next in importance is the process of making 
sugar called Wetzell's, from the name of the inventor. The operation 
is not so perfectly performed as in the vacuum pan. The quality of 
the sugar is consequently inferior ; but still it is a great improvement 
on the old method, — the apparatus is less expensive, can be made in 
the colony, and with the aid of " turbines " sugar of fine quality is 
produced. The crystals are however smaller and not so clear and 
well defined as in vacuum-pan sugar. These machines are employed 
on many estates and the result obtained is satisfactory. 

In a report by Sir Henry Barkly, he states: Some allege that 
Mauritius has seen its brightest days ; that sugar cultivation reached 
its maximum limit several years ago ; that the soil is in many 
districts exhausted, and the cane plant in consequence subject to the 
attacks of insects and other diseases, &c., &c. In my opinion there 
are no adequate grounds for any of these forebodings, though they 
are not surprising after the series of ordeals through which the 



SUGAR. 



166 



island has had to pass. Granted that, although nearly a fifth of the 
surface is still either covered with forest or in a state of nature, it is 
generally too elevated, and consequently too cold and damp for the 
production of sugar, and that little virgin soil is available for the 
purpose beyond a few patches of woodland at the back of the estates 
of the more prudent proprietors. Granted that many estates have 
been most improvidently worked, yet there seems to be no reason 
why, with the improved system of agriculture now commencing, a 
greater variety of manures, more frequent fallowing, and a more 
careful rotation of green crops, the land now in cultivation should 
not go on producing more than it has ever hitherto done. As to the 
deterioration of the sugar-cane, which seems to me attributable in no 
small degree to the immoderate and uninterrupted use of guano, the 
steps which have been taken to introduce fresh varieties from Java, 
New Caledonia, and other countries, will, in the long run, permit the 
entire renewal of the plant ; and the question is not, at any rate, so 
much beyond the pale of botany and agricultural chemistry as to 
justify any serious alarm. On the other hand, improvements of the 
highest importance, though, at the same time, singularly inexpensive, 
are now being carried out in the mode of manufacturing sugar, which 
are certain to lead to a considerable increase in quantity and a 
wonderful amelioration of quality, and consequently ought not to be 
lost sight of in any appreciation of the future prospects of this colony. 
I allude to what is called, from its inventor, the " leery process," a 
mode of applying monosulphite of lime, by which the juice of the 
cane is so thoroughly defecated, that sugar but little inferior to refined 
is produced at a first process. 

The great superiority of the Mauritius sugar arises from the manu- 
facture by Dr. Icery's process of purification by monosulphite of lime 
without filtration by animal charcoal. The syrups remaining from 
the turbinage of sugar when treated with monosulphite of lime give 
most advantageous results. Under the infiuence of this agent, syrups 
become purified, decolorized, and crystallized with remarkable facility. 
Manufactured by this process, syrup sugars have a perfect grain and 
fine colour, not entirely due to the direct influence of the substance 
employed, but to the preparation to which the veson or juice has 
already been submitted, and the absence in the syrup of those foreign 
soluble matters which are the principal obstacles to the crystallization 
of the sugars of the second boiling. 

In Mauritius by the processes used, all things being equal, the 
proportion of sugar from a barrel of cane juice (which weighs from 
630 to 544 lbs.) will depend not only on the relative richness of the 
liquid, but also on the various circumstances in which the manu- 
facture may be placed. The average yield may be taken at 95 lbs. of 
sugar per barrel of juice, and the average yield of sugar per acre 
ranges from 3500 lbs. to 5500 lbs. 

Dr. leery made numerous analyses upon the different species of 
mature canes cultivated in this island, but grown in localities differing 
in soil and temperature. The result of his observations was the 
following average percentage of the composition of the juice : * 

* The full details of Dr. Icery's chemical researches are published in detail in the 
sixth volume of my ' Technologist,' 1866. 



166 



SUGAK. 



Water 81-00 

Sugar 18-36 

Mineral salts 0-29 

Organic substances . . • 35 

Total 100- 



The following are analyses made by Dr. leery on different kinds of 
ripe canes : 



Species of Cane. 



Diard .. 
Guinghau 

Pinang 
Bellouguet 

Bamboo 

5) 

Otaheite 



Water. 



0-698 
0-703 
0-682 
0-703 
0-697 
0-678 
0-690 
0-716 
0-703 
0-729 
0-695 
0-669 
0-703 



Sugar. 



Ligneous 
Substance. 



0-200 
0-197 
0-209 
0-186 
0-196 
6-196 
0-198 
0-197 
0-203 
0-187 
0-190 
0-214 
0-210 



0-102 
0-100 
0-109 
0-111 
0-107 
0-126 
0-112 
0-087 
0-094 
0-084 
0-115 
0-117 
0-107 



Cane sugar (0^2 0^^) is distinguished from all other kinds by 
the property it has of crystallizing in large rhomboidal prisms, and 
the facility with which it is possible to obtain it in this state, when 
dissolved in water. 

It will be seen from the following shipments of the seasons 1869-70 
and 1874-5 that there is a large consumption of Mauritius sugar in 
Australia and India, where the coarser quality is principally sent : 



To United Kingdom ,. ,. 76,212,485 

France 22,310,088 

Australia 99,748,587 

Cape Colony 4,751,588 

India 59,209,368 



1874-5. 
lbs. 

61,586,770 
2,105 
54,499,6Si3 
5,725,722 
40,435,380 



Quantities and value of the sugar exported, as given in the twelfth 
number of ' Statistical Abstract of Colonies ' : * 



Year. 


Tons. 


! 

Value. 


Average Price 
per cwt. 






£ 


£ s. d. 


1867 


100,000 


2,156,950 


18 4 


1868 


99,000 


2,143,166 


1 1 10 


1869 


107,000 


2,599,815 


1 2 10 


1870 


102,000 


2,549,881 


1 4 11 


1871 


123,000 


2,819,944 


12 7 


1872 


128,350 


2,844,593 


1 2 2i 


1873 


116,582 


2,897,909 


1 4 11 


1874 


98,491 


2,318,158 


13 8 



* These figures differ slightly from those given in the Governor's Eeports 
Mauritius Almanac. 



lud the 



SUGAR. 



167 



This amount may be compared with the quantity produced in 
the island twenty years ago, which was under 60,000 tons. 

The following shows the sugar estates and their acreage in 1876 : 



J-)is trict. 


Sugar 
Estates. 


Acres Cultivated. 




Pamplemousses . ■ 


9Q 


11 ATA 
11 ,^14 




Kiviere du Eempart 


22 


12,250 




Flacq 


38 


26,851 






34 


22,548 






11 


4,940 




Plaines Wilhems . . . . 


19 


12,750 




Mokha 


17 


11,133 






29 


20,290 





Iteunion. — The extent of land under cultivation with sugar in this 
island in 1874 was 43,672 hectares, and there were 85 sugar estates, 
of which 79 had mills worked by steam. The produce of sugar 
ranges from 35,000,000 to 41,000,000 kilos, of molasses, 3,500,000 to 
4,000,000 litres, and of rum 1,300,000 litres. 

The sugar exported from Keunion to France in 1874 was : 

Kilos. 

1st quality 4,443,534 

2nd „ ^ 3,191,130 

3rd „ .. .. • .. .. .. .. 1,241,634 

Total 8,876,298 



Straits Settlements. — In Province Wellesley considerable improve- 
ments have been made in agricultural operations of late years on 
the estates of European planters ; while the Chinese are entering 
largely into the cultivation of sugar, and are obtaining steam 
machinery to replace the old cattle mills, which they have hitherto 
employed in grinding the canes. In 1871 there was an increase of 
50,000 piculs over the exports of 1870. 

Philippines. — The sugar-cane is cultivated in Negros, Panay, Cebu, 
Luzon, and in nearly every part of the Archipelago; the yellow 
variety being generally raised in the province of Pampanga (Luzon), 
and the purple in Negros and Panay. The shoots are planted in the 
month of February, and the crops are cut in January following. 
The yield of raw sugar from cane planted in an indifferent soil is 
about 12 piculs (15 cwts.) per acre, in the best soils about 40 piculs, the 
average therefore being about 20 piculs. The best quality is from Pam- 
panga, and the worst from Taal or Batangas. The native apparatus for 
crushing the cane, which consists of two stone cylinders with wooden 
teeth, is now being superseded in many places by iron rollers from 
England. Steam sugar mills have also been erected on several 
estates. It is impossible to compute the total production, as there 
are no statistics on the subject, and we can only get at a few 
particulars of the shipments from different ports. 

In 1863 there were 20 iron cattle mills in Panay, and 43 in the 
neighbouring province of Negros, but the demand for them was 
steadily increasing, the native planters finding their superiority to 



168 



SUGAR. 



the primitive mills with wooden rollers to be very marked. Steam 
mills had also been erected for crushing cane, four being then at 
work at Negros on estates which produce collectively 1300 tons of 
sugar, and would double that quantity when further improvements in 
deeper ploughing and a less backward mode of general cultivation 
was adopted. There were in that year twenty-three Europeans en- 
gaged in planting at Negros. The united crops of Negros, Iloilo, 
and Antique were expected to yield about 21,0U0 tons, and in eight 
years more the British Consul estimated the shipments of the two 
islands of Panay and Negros would be about 62,000 tons. 
The exports of sugar from Iloilo, island of Panay, were in 



Tons. 

1855 750 

1856 850 

1857 1800 

1858 1,290 

1859 5,427 



Tons. 

1860 7,048 

1861 4,598 

1862 12,586 

1863 15,677 



The progress made in sugar production in these two quarters 
since is shown by the subjoined statement of exports in piculs of 
li cwt. : 



Year. 



Iloilo. 



1864 


152,757 


1865 


117,445 


1866 


145,241 


1867 


153,123 


1868 


255,274 


1870 


312,359 


1872 


539,293 


1873 


545,001 



Cebu. 



58,364 
93,835 
72,204 
133,384 
185,049 
149,106 
186,606 
169,260 



From these figures it will be seen that the estimate of the British 
Consul is approaching realization, as the combined exports are 
already 45,000 tons. 

Previously to the year 1867 the greater part of the sugar made in 
the Philippines was forwarded to England ; but a large quantity is 
now taken by the United States. 

Shipments of sugar from the whole of the Archipelago : 





Piculs. 




Piculs. 






1869 


,. 1,101,500 


1863 , 


1,172,050 
,. 1,035,027 


1870 , 


1,256,582 


1864 .. . 


1871 


1865 ., . 


896,832 


1872 ,. . 


.. 1,530,641 


1866 , 


855,280 


1873 , 


1,429,322 


1867 


1,015,887 


1874 , 


1,653,128 


1868 .. , 


.. 1,180,567 


1875 , 


.. 2,017,361 



Java. — The sugar culture in Java is one of the chief supports of 
the Treasury. The principal points of the contracts which formerly 
existed were that the Government assisted the planter in making 



SUGAR. 



169 



ready his fields, in planting and cutting of the canes, and some- 
times in the bringing of the canes to the mill ; while, in return for 
this assistance, he ceded to the Government a certain portion of 
his produce at a fixed price. It was found, however, that these con- 
ditions did not suit the present times, and in 1870 a measure was 
introduced and passed by the Chamber, in which several important 
modifications were made. The chief was that, instead of as hitherto 
paying Government in kind, planters could pay Government a 
certain sum of money in proportion to the product and extent of 
their estates. The consequence of this was that in 1872 a very 
much larger quantity of sugar than heretofore passed through the 
hands of the commercial community, and the yearly Government 
auctions, the aggregate of which in 1871 was 37,500 tons, will no 
longer be held. The number of plantations are over 200 in all, with 
about 70,000 acres under culture, and the total production of Java 
may be estimated roughly at about 160,000 tons. In 1863 the 
exports were 130,000 tons; in 1873 the production was estimated at 
2,500,000 piculs. 

Borneo. — The sugar-cane is grown by the natives sufficient for their 
own consumption. 

In 1863 an English company was started, and 200 acres planted 
with cane, and sugar and rum are now articles of export to Singa- 
pore. Sugar to the value of about 10,000 dollars was shipped in 
1865. 

Sandwich Islands. — There were in 1868 thirty-three sugar plantations 
in operation, having 10,260 acres planted with cane, and the monthly 
expenses were about 9801Z. The actual cost of producing sugar on an 
old plantation free from incumbrance does not exceed 2(1. per pound 
for all grades manufactured. The produce is about 30,000,000 lbs. 
sugar, and 500,000 gallons of molasses. Three thousand one hundred 
and eighty-five persons were employed on the plantations. In 1874 
the exports of sugar were 24,567,000 lbs. 

Fiji Islands. — The natives grow canes for sugar for their own 
consumption. In 1863 there was one plantation, and the quality pro- 
duced was good. Sugar is now also produced in the Society Islands. 

At Tahiti, in 1847 there were about 250 acres of land under 
sugar-cane, and three small sugar mills in operation ; fifteen tons of 
sugar were exported. In 1874 there were 290 acres, and the produce 
was 40,000 kilos, of raw sugar, and 71,400 kilos, of turbined. 

Queensland. — Sugar is now a leading agricultural product here ; 
it has started into existence within but a very few years, and as 
a large and increasing area of country has been taken up for its 
growth, it may be confidently expected that the industry will soon 
assume very large proportions. The planters have for the most part 
entered without experience on their work, and much has yet to be 
learned as to the best mode of cultivation and manufacture adapted to 
the conditions of soil and climate. Considerable quantities of sugar 
are shipped to the neighbouring colonies, where it commands a good 
price. A refinery has been established. Queensland, besides pro- 
viding for its own consumption, will soon be able to supply Austral- 
asia with an article of a superior description. Sugar has succeeded in 



170 



SUGAR. 



Queensland, because it is suited to tlie soil and climate of the coast- 
land. In 1865 there were but 93 acres under culture with sugar ; in 
1869 the total had risen to 5165 acres. 

The sugar plantations in Queensland continue to give promise of 
very satisfactory returns. There are now eleven distilleries in the 
colony in full work. The total yield of sugar, during the past 
crushing season, was 2854^ tons ; the quantity of sugar imported 
during the same period, 2090 tons ; thus showing that the production 
is not yet equal to the demand. There were 76,311 gallons of rum 
placed in bond during 1870, of which 35,379 gallons were exported. 
The total average yield per acre, for the cane crushed during 1870, was 
1 ton 6 cwts. qrs. 10 lbs. The average crop is now from 2 to 2^ tons 
per acre, although 4 tons are occasionally produced, as at Jeridah 
estate, Maryborough, from the old bamboo-cane of two years' growth. 
The sugar estates range between 18° and 28° lat. The Inspector of 
Distilleries states in his report that there is a prospect of a large 
increase in the area of land under cane, especially in the northern 
districts. The crop of the season ending March 1872 was 3750 
tons of sugar. 

The varieties of cane grown here are the black cheribon, the 
chigaco, a small yellow cane (name uncertain), a hairless variety, 
leaf with smooth edges ; the violet cane, ribbon cane, and bamboo 
cane. 

In New South Wales in 1872 there were 1994 acres under sugar- 
cane, which yielded 25,000 cwts., and 2399 acres unproductive. The 
yield of sugar in 1868 was 30,000 cwts. 

Victoria. — The sugar-cane having been successfully grown in Spain 
and other countries on the Mediterranean Sea, Baron Mueller remarks 
that it is worthy of further trial whether in the warmest parts of 
Victoria under similar climatic conditions sugar from the cane can 
be produced with advantage. Though the plant will live unprotected 
in the vicinity of Melbourne, it does not thrive there sufficiently for 
remunerative culture. But it may be otherwise in East Gippsland, 
or along the Murray river and its lower tributaries. For fuller 
information, the valuable work of Mr. A. McKay, ' The Sugar-cane 
in Australia,' should be consulted. 

Bgypt. — The following account of sugar cultivation in Egypt, from 
the pen of the Eight Hon. S. Cave, was contributed to the ' Barbados 
Agricultural Eeporter' some years ago, and therefore requires con- 
siderable modification as compared with the present time : 

" The sugar-cane was unknown to the ancient Egyptians : it does 
not appear in those painted and sculptured tombs which, like the 
Etruscan, have preserved the details of domestic life in remote ages. ' 
The date, and doum palms, still familiar to the Nile voyager, are 
portrayed there, as well as the lotus, and papyrus now almost extinct, 
but never the sugar-cane. Nor is it enumerated, as it surely would 
have been if known at the time, among the vegetables, 'the leeks, 
and melons, and cucumbers ' for which the Hebrews longed, when 
wandering on the nitrous plateau of the great desert El Tih. And if 
identical, as supposed, with ' the sweet cane ' or ' calamus ' which 
formed part of the composition of the holy ointment for the Tabernacle, 



SUGAR. 



171 



and is mentioned in Solomon's Song, and the Prophecy of Jeremiah, 
it was, even so late as the Jewish monarchy, brought ' from a far 
country.' Hence Dioscorides and Pliny have erred in calling it a 
native of Arabia, and it is correctly omitted from the list of indi- 
genous products of that country by a most careful writer, Niebuhr 
the botanist. It was probably transplanted from India or China in 
early times, during one of the many migrations which brought the 
hordes of Eastern Asia to the shores of the Mediterranean. It is 
mentioned by Greek and Eoman authors. The Crusaders found it in 
Egypt and Syria. Their antagonists, the Saracens, carried it with 
them into Spain, where it flourishes still in the semi-tropical climate 
from Malaga to Motril, having become the parent of a more important 
cultivation in North and South America. 

" About the year 1500, Giovanni Lioni says that it abounded in the 
Thebaid and the north of Africa, and that a considerable trade in 
sugar was carried on with Nubia. 

" Bruce, the traveller, saw it in Upper Egypt ; and in our own day 
Dr. Lepsius, of the Prussian exploring expedition, found at Kemlin, in 
the province of Sennaar on the Blue Nile, under the 16th parallel of 
north latitude, a sugar factory, and manufacture of brandy from 
sugar-cane, conducted by a German, named Beauer, and worked by 
Arabs and slaves. The principal sugar-growing district in Egypt, at 
the present time, extends from Minieh, 28° 10' N. lat., to Erment 
above Thebes, 25° 30' N. lat., occupying both sides of the Nile valley, 
where broadest and richest, above the Delta. The sheet of canes is, 
however, interrupted, as in the West Indies, by Guinea corn, and 
vegetables, as well as by cotton and tobacco ; and a considerable space 
is filled by groves of date palm, the fruit of which is an important 
staple in Egypt, and contributes largely to the revenue. 

" When Mehemet Ali declared himself sole proprietor of the soil 
of Egypt, a measure justified according to M. Clot. Bey by the prece- 
dent of Joseph ! he established large sugar estates and factories on 
the Nile, the first of which was founded at Eeramoon, in 1818. These 
were originally managed by English, French, and Italians, though 
now almost entirely by native Egyptians. The first effect of this 
enterprise was the destruction of many an interesting monument of 
antiquity, spared by successive waves of invasion, but destined now 
to fall before the march of improvement. A Turk or Arab never 
dreams of quarrying for stone, so long as it can be more easily 
obtained by pulling down an old temple; so hieroglyphics and 
sculptured figures in every inverted position are plentifully scat- 
tered over the walls and floors of an Egyptian boiling house. 
The works thus -built, the surrounding land was parcelled out 
among the Fellaheen, or peasantry, who were furnished with plants 
and rude instruments of culture, and compelled to bring in a 
certain amount of canes per acre, for which they received one- third 
of the produce in coarse black muscovado, the rest being refined, and 
sold by the viceroy in the towns at a price which in times of unusual 
abundance he kept up by exportation. Since his death the system 
has been much modified ; the land has in most instances been resold 
to the former proprietors, and the factories have passed to the princes 



172 



SUGAR. 



of the viceroy's family, or to companies. The forced labour system 
being also to a certain extent abolished, the Fellaheen prefer making 
as well as growing their own sugar, because, as they told me, the 
central factory, under the new system of sale, frequently omitted 
to pay them for their canes, but always exacted full price for the 
sugar made from them. This short-sighted >nd thoroughly oriental 
policy has generally reduced the factories to the manufacture of the 
sugar grown on their own estates. 

" The nominal wages of a field labourer are three piastres, or six- 
pence a day, or two piastres with liberty to grow corn between the 
cane rows : except however on the prince's lands, where a quasi 
slavery is winked at, there is great scarcity of labour, owing to the 
large levies, and wasteful system of recruiting for the viceroy's army, 
and public works. 

" The above causes have led to the abandonment of more than one 
once flourishing manufactory, such as those at Farshiout Bajoura and 
Gulf Sahau, though the actual breadth of cultivation is probably as 
extensive as ever. 

" I visited several village factories ; this is the description of one 
near the remarkable rock tombs of Tel Amarna. 

" The mill was under a rude shed partially screened by date palms, 
and with a scanty palm thatch on the sunny side only, for there is 
little fear of rain in Upper Egypt. It consisted of two vertical 
wooden rollers about six inches in diameter turned by one ox. The 
canes were passed and repassed three or four times between the 
rollers, and very imperfectly ground after all. The small percentage 
of juice flowed into a vat beneath ; when this was full the mill was 
stopped, and the juice, mingled with all kinds of extraneous matter, 
was carried in buckets to a deep iron pan under another shed, in 
which it was evaporated over a charcoal fire and then cooled in 
earthenware pots, like those under which seakale is grown in 
England. The result, very coarse sugar and molasses, is doled out 
to the Fellaheen in the proportions of their cultivation by the head 
man of the village. 

" The factory which I inspected at Eanda was a much more imposing 
affair, with its tall chimneys and spacious courtyard, its boiling 
house, curing house, and distillery, and cloud of aromatic steam which 
might be smelt a mile off on the other side of the river. It was on 
the usual West Indian plan. The motive power was steam. The canes 
were carried to the mill by camels instead of mules or oxen ; and there 
was nothing very remarkable in the construction of tayches, or clari- 
fiers. The yard and buildings were cleaner than they generally are in 
the West Indies, but the still-house cisterns had the usual number of 
dead rats floating in the fermenting liquid. The managers were 
Egyptian Arabs and very intelligent people. Here, as in the villages, 
the megass after passing the three rollers is carried back, and pressed 
a second time ; it is then dry enough to be used almost immediately 
under the coppers. The juice is clarified with lime, white of eggs, 
and milk, and the greater part of the sugar is clayed in pots of the 
usual form, with fine potters' clay brought from Keneh and Girgeh. 
The loaves are not so white or fine as those imported from Europe, 



SUGAR. 



173 



but native sugar commands the highest price, ' because,' say the 
Egyptians, ' it goes much farther ; ' which indicates that the imported 
is beetroot sugar. This explains the fact that though the produce 
does not suffice for the consumption of the country, it is never- 
theless exported to the Hedjaz and other parts of Arabia. About 
nine hundred of these pots, equal to twelve tons raw sugar, are filled 
here daily when in full work; and the crop season lasts for three 
months. The manufacture goes on night and day by relays, and the 
labourers receive from one to four piastres for ten hours. The camel 
hire amounts to five piastres a day for each — tenpence. The usual 
proportion of rum and molasses is obtained. 

" There are two kinds of cultivated land in Egypt, the Eei, which is 
watered by the natural rise of the Nile, and the Sharackee, which 
is artificially irrigated. The latter may be subdivided, as it is watered 
by the Shadoof worked by men ; the Sakia worked by oxen, or the 
steam engine. It is plain that the cane, grown on the Eei lands, must 
be planted just before the inundation covers the field, or it would die 
of drought, and must be taken off before the next rise. Whereas, that 
which is grown in fields banked round and artificially irrigated, may 
be planted at other times, and the planter is free from the great un- 
certainty as to the height of the inundation, which is a constant 
source of anxiety to the proprietor of the Rei lands, as a deficient 
inundation causes wholesale destruction to the products of the soil. 

" The manufacture can only take place at low Nile, so that the 
growth of the cane in the Sharackee lands does not exceed twelve 
months, the planting season being about February and March, and 
the reaping commencing in January. At Eanda there were three 
steam pumping engines which watered about four hundred acres each. 
On these fields the canes grow to the height of 10 feet, but on the 
Eei lands, where the planting is two months later, they are necessarily 
much shorter. Eatooning for any length of time does not answer, 
and at least one-fourth of the crop is planted annually. The canes 
are planted in holes banked up with the hoe, much as in old times in 
the West Indies ; the moulding is done naturally by the deposit of 
the Nile, there is no trashing, and for reaping a short heavy knife is 
used which cuts the cane close to the ground. The Egyptian native 
cane, as it is called, is much like that known by the same name and 
now nearly extinct in Barbados ; but the West Indian varieties have 
been successfully introduced. The juice is usually watery, as might 
be expected from the length of time the canes are covered by the 
inundation, and the yield is not more than four or five kantars a 
feddan, or about 500 lbs. refined sugar to an acre. 

" The chief manures are a nitrous saline earth found on the borders 
of the desert, and pigeons' dung. Vast quantities of half- wild 
pigeons are encouraged to breed in the Egyptian villages for the sake 
of their manure, and the turreted pigeon-houses form a conspicuous 
feature in the Nile landscape. 

" In a country like Egypt it is extremely difficult to arrive at any 
accurate statistics. M. Clot. Bey fixes the quantity of refined sugar 
made in 1833 at 382,449 kilogrammes, or about 370 tons, and the 
raw sugar made at the three factories of Eeramoon, Sakiet Monee, 



174 



SUGAR. 



and Randa, at 21,395 quintals, or about 2140 tons. This must be 
the sugar for sale, and exclusive of that returned to the Fellaheen and 
consumed on the spot. The value of the sugar imported at the same 
period amounted to 666,000 francs. I was assured by a Government 
employe at Cairo (an European), that, under a better system of 
government, and with only its present population, Egypt is fully 
capable of producing 50,000 tons of sugar." 

This estimate of production, it will be seen by the figures of the 
exports, given in subsequent pages, has been already reached. 

An important paper on " Sugar Manufacture in Egypt " was read 
before the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1872 by Mr. William 
Anderson, of the firm of Easton and Anderson, engineers, which 
contained a good deal of practical and useful information respecting 
a new process for the manufacture of white sugar without charcoal 
filtration by the use of sulphui'ous acid gas, and other reagents in 
defecation, and an extensively rapid method of concentration of cane 
juice to syrup. The Abael-Wakf sugar factory, constructed specially 
for the sulphurous acid process, is situated on the banks of the 
Ibrahimia canal, about six miles south of Mayaga — a station on the 
Nile Eailway, and also the site of large sugar works — and about two 
miles west of the Nile. The distance from Cairo is about one hundred 
and twenty miles. Mr. Anderson's firm also erected and set to work, 
at the same time, a second sugar factory at Bene Mazar, a place 
about six miles farther south. This was about half as large again as 
that at Aba, and arranged on the French system of defecation, using 
animal charcoal, so that Mr. Anderson, who personally superintended 
the completion and starting of both factories, had special oppor- 
tunities for comparing the two methods of manufacture. Cane juice 
contains saccharine matter in a free state of solution. The work 
to be done consists, first, in cleansing the raw juice from impurities, 
and neutralizing its acids; and next, in concentrating it to the 
crystallizing point. The main difficulty to be overcome is to prevent 
the crystallizable sugar existing in the juice from becoming un- 
crystallizable, and therefore the process which achieves the highest 
result in this respect most economically is the best. Clarification is 
generally effected by neutralizing the organic acids of the juice by 
means of lime, and by removing the scum by skimming, subsidence, 
or filtration. Sometimes clay or whiting is added to assist mecha- 
nically in Carrying down the impurities, and the operation takes 
place either in steam clarifiers, supplemented or not by subsiding 
tanks, or in the concentrating coppers. The most advanced and 
satisfactory system, the one adopted at Bene Mazar, and generally 
in Egypt, is to heat the juice nearly to the boiling point, adding lime 
until its neutral point is attained. A thick scum collects on the 
surface, and cracks when the temperature reaches about 210° — that 
is to say, when incipient ebullition takes place in spots here and 
there. Steam is immediately shut off, and the juice is allowed to 
stand about forty minutes. During this time the cake of scum, which 
is about two inches thick, becomes very compact, so that when at last 
the clear juice is suffered to run out through a copper strainer at 



SUGAE. 



175 



the bottom of the clarifier, the impurities remain behind, and are 
thoroughly separated. Bisulphite of lime is now commonly used 
with the same object as sulphurous acid gas. It is added in solution 
as soon as possible after the juice leaves the crushing rolls. 

In making inferior kinds of sugar, the clarified juice is run into 
a battery of open pans, called " taiches," the whole apparatus being 
styled a " copper wall." These pans are heated by direct fire under 
them, and the juice, as it concentrates, is ladled from one pan to the 
other, being skimmed all the time, and finished at last in the pan 
farthest away from the furnace. The whole operation is " messy," 
and extravagant in fuel. An improvement on the copper wall is the 
" concretor," a shallow tray set over a furnace, down which the juice 
runs in a thin stream, and is rapidly concentrated ; but in this appa- 
ratus, also, on account of the steam from the juice being wasted, the 
expenditure of fuel is very great. For the higher classes of sugar 
the clarified juice is run through bag filters, and afterwards through 
animal charcoal, or through the latter only, and concentrated in the 
manner above described, or by means of double-action or treble-action 
tubular concentrators. At Bene Mazar four sets of treble-action con- 
centrators are used. Each set consists of three vessels. The first set 
is heated by the waste steam from the various steam engines. The 
steam evolved from the juice in these boils the syrup in the second 
set of vessels, and in like manner the steam produced in the second 
set boils the syrup in the last set of vessels. The first set works at 
about the pressure of the atmosphere, the second set at a partial 
vacuum of ten inches, and the third set, like vacuum pans, under a 
vacuum of about twenty-six inches. After concentration, and for the 
higher classes of sugar, the syrup, at about 22° Beaume, is again 
passed through charcoal filters, and then boiled to grain in vacuum 
pans. Inferior sugars are struck either directly from the last " taiche 
of the copper wall, or from some one of a numerous array of tubular 
and other granulators, working at the ordinary atmospheric pressure. 
The molasses is now almost universally separated from the crystal- 
lized sugar by means of centrifugal machines. There is great diffi- 
culty in getting the juice and syrups to pass through animal charcoal 
of sufficient fineness to produce much effect. The animal charcoal 
used by refiners, for example, is about as fine as No. 1 shot, while 
that used in Egypt is as coarse as hazel nuts, and even then it clogs 
very quickly. It appears that, until the molasses has been in a 
great measure separated from the crystallized sugar — which is only 
to be done in the curing room — the syrups cannot be made to filter 
efficiently, and that, for this reason alone, it is well to avoid charcoal 
filtration. It is certain that juice is degraded by passing over large 
surfaces, as it thereby has a tendency to get sour, and thus to in- 
crease the percentage of molasses. It is hardly necessary to remark 
that the first cost of the charcoal, the daily waste, and the charges 
for fuel and labour in reburning, are serious items in the account. 

A valuable contribution to the ' Chemistry and Physics of Sugar 
Manufacture ' was also given in the foregoing paper by Mr, George 
Ogston, analytical chemist, in the following terms : 



176 



SUGAR. 



" The property of sulphurous acid gas, or of salts containing that 
gas, such as the bisulphite of lime, in preventing or arresting fer- 
mentation, and in bleaching vegetable substances, is well known. It 
seems to have been applied to the manufacture of sugar from cane 
juice as early as 1838, when Mr. E. StoUe took out a patent for dis- 
colouring saccharine matter by sulphurous acid gas instead of animal 
charcoal ; and subsequent patents have been taken out in 1849, 1850, 
1857, and 1862, for similar purposes. But it does not appear that 
any marked success has attended the use of the gas, though it is in- 
comparably cheaper than the bisulphite of lime, which at present is 
largely employed in the British West India colonies. It may be that 
the latter substance finds favour on account of its not requiring 
special apparatus for its application ; but I am inclined to think that 
sulphurous acid gas has failed from two causes. In the first place, it 
has to be applied quite as carefully as the lime used in ordinary tem- 
pering. Being extremely soluble, juice will take it up to the extent of 
thirty-three times its own volume, and hence a great excess is easily 
and imperceptibly added, only to require neutralizing again by lime, 
which forms sulphite and bisulphite of lime ; the latter being wholly 
soluble in the weak cane juice, but is in part changed, at the expense 
of the atmosphere, into the sulphate, which, although soluble in about 
four hundred and fifty volumes of hot water, is deposited rapidly on 
the surfaces of the concentrators and vacuum pans, rendering them 
inefficient, and extravagant in fuel. In the second place, the gas has 
always been tried at existing factories, most probably with very 
defective and slow concentration ; hence the juice, which if quickly 
concentrated — not, however, in vessels heated by dii-ect fire, as in 
' taiches ' and concretors — would have made white sugar, has been 
degraded till all the benefits of the gas are lost. The Aba factory, 
it is believed, is the only one ever built expressly for the use of 
sulj)hurous acid, and hence the success which was immediately 
attained. 

" In the simple clarification with lime, great care should be taken 
to add the exact quantity necessary to neutralize the organic acids 
in the juice. The salts of lime then formed — chiefly acetate — are all 
soluble, and are not deposited if concentration follows rapidly ; but 
if there is an excess of lime, or long exposure to the air, the carbonate 
is formed at the expense of the atmosphere, and becomes very trouble- 
some. At Bene Mazar, last crop, the clarification was constantly 
under European supervision, and so carefully done that, at the end of 
the season, there was no deposit whatever, either in the triple-action 
tubular concentrators or the vacuum pans ; and, as excellent white sugar 
was made, it is presumable that the correct quantity of milk of lime 
was used. This varied between 1 J gallon to 2^ gallons, at 10° Beaume, 
corresponding to from 1^ lb. to 2| lbs. of caustic lime, or say, an 
average of 2 lbs. of caustic lime per clarifier of 353 gallons. At Aba, 
during my experiments, J lb. of sulphur was actually consumed for 
450 gallons of juice ; but this quantity, in consequence of the imper- 
fect arrangements for ' gassing,' was greatly in excess of what was 
necessary for clarification. Laborator;^ experiments seem to indicate 
that about lb. per 450 gallons will be sufficient. The lime required 



SUGAE. 



177 



to neutralize this will be nearly the same weight, and therefore 
will form but 4 per cent, of the lime necessary for tempering in 
the ordinary manner ; that is to say, 4 per cent, more lime will be 
required by the sulphurous acid process than by the ordinary method 
of defecation ; and this is probably little, if any, more than the syrup, 
as it leaves the concentrators, will be able to retain in solution. The 
lime required at Aba, if used in the same proportion to the juice as 
at Bene Mazar, would be lbs. per clarifier, increased only to 
Sy^Q- lbs. in neutralizing the sulphurous acid gas; it is therefore 
expected that the deposit of sulphate of lime, which materially inter- 
fered with the working of the concentrators last season, will be very 
considerably reduced, if not completely removed, more especially 
because they are not in a condition analogous to steam boilers out of 
which only steam is taken ; on the contrary, from them at least 40 per 
cent, of the entering fluid flows out again, and must carry a large 
proportion of slightly soluble and suspended matters with it. The 
rapidity of the process of getting the juice to the state of syrup, 
when it is safe from fermentation, is best illustrated by comparison 
with Bene Mazar. In that mill a particle of juice in travelling 
through the apparatus remains two hours in the juice tank and 
clarifiers, two hours in the charcoal filters, an hour and three- 
quarters in the triple-action concentrators — in all, five hours and 
three-quarters, while at Aba the same state is reached in less than 
two hours, or in about one-third the time. 

" It is well known that sulphuric acid is a deadly enemy to crys- 
tallizable sugar, and sulphurous acid being very nearly allied, it was 
feared that its use might also be, to some extent, prejudicial. To 
settle this point, samples of juice obtained from Egyptian cane were 
carefully clarified in the ordinary manner with lime, and then filtered 
through charcoal, and also by the sulphurous acid gas process ; the 
resulting specimens of clarified juice were then analysed, and it was 
found that the samples obtained from the latter process were to 
a slight extent richer in crystallizable sugar ; the difference, however, 
was very small, so that practically it became safe to assume that there 
would be no loss of crystallized sugar through the use of sulphurous 
acid. Inasmuch as the third boiling of molasses has to stand from 
three months to six months before it can throw down all the crystal- 
lizable sugar, a complete investigation into the yield of any process 
is a very tedious business, and, in fact, can only be accurately done by 
exact observation throughout the season's working, extending, with 
the manufacture of all the produce, over at least seven months 
or eight months. Nor is it possible to make any satisfactory estimate 
of the yield of the third boiling, as it varies very much, depending 
greatly on the state of the canes and the goodness of the original 
clarification and concentration of the juice. I devoted one month to 
watching the successive transformations of 164,345 gallons of raw 
juice as far as the third boiling ; and, considering the immense 
number of measurements taken, the corrections for temperature 
necessary, and the circumstance that a large number of observers had 
to be employed, the results of my investigations are surprisingly 
accurate. 

N 



178 



SUGAR. 



" The yield of 164,345 gallons of raw juice, at 9j° Beaume and 
72° Fahrenheit, was : 

Tons. cwts. qrs, lbs. 

First white sugar 54 18 2 18 

Second boiling brown 18 6 3 1 

Tliird „ estimated 9 3 1 14 



All sugar— total .... 82 8 3 5 



Molasses after second sugars 24 12 2 25 



or at the rate of 1-124 lb. per gallon, the white sugar alone being 
0*75 lb. per gallon. At Bene Mazar the yield of first sugars was 
0*71 lb. per gallon, the total yield being estimated at 1-21 lb. per 
gallon. At either factory the result must be looked upon as extremely 
good, considering that the canes were very small, their dimensions 
seldom exceeding 4 feet long by 1 inch to IJ inch diameter. A 
great number of the canes were also so short that they had to be 
carried up to the mills in baskets. And, besides this, they lay fre- 
quently for two weeks and even three weeks cut before they were 
ground. During the experiments a lot of cane sent from Bene Mazar, 
where it had been cut down to make room for the Agricultural Eail- 
way, lay a fortnight before it was crushed. Sugar makers can readily 
estimate the deterioration of the juice which resulted from this 
delay. 

" I am indebted to the courtesy of the Colonial Company for the 
following statement : — On their estate in Demerara — famous for the 
richness of its sugar-cane — from cane juice, when at its best in the 
months of March, April, and May, and indicating 10° Beaume at 70° 
temperature, they obtained, of first white sugars, 8*43 per cent, on the 
cane juice, and of second sugars, 4*56 per cent., or in all 12-99 per 
cent., or about 1-405 lb. per gallon. The company does not work the 
molasses a third time, but as the second boiling forms 54 per cent, of 
the first, it is probable that very little crystallizable sugar is lost. 
At Aba, the second boiling forms only 33 per cent, of the first, and 
it is not likely that the sugar derived from the thii'd boiling would 
make the aggregate amount greater than 50 per cent. This result 
seems to show that, under like favourable circumstances, equally high 
results may be looked for in Egypt. Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart., late 
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, who is 
extensively interested in the sugar industry of that colony, has kindly 
communicated the following information respecting the yield of two 
sugar factories on the Clarence river. Of first yellow sugars they 
made in 1871, 0-89 lb. and 1-01 lb. per gallon of juice respectively ; 
of second sugars, 0*29 lb. and 0-14 lb. and of molasses, 0-57 lb. and 
0-47 lb. In these mills concretors are employed for the concentra- 
tion ; and as no use whatever is made of the steam from the juice, 
more than two tons of coal have been consumed per ton of dry sugars, 
besides all the megass. The quantity of molasses, or uncrystallizable 
sugar, remaining after the first boiling, may be taken as the measure 
of the degradation the juice has suffered during its manufacture into 
sugar. Taking the percentages in each case on the first and secoud 



SUGAR. 



179 



sugars together, it appears that the Aba factory makes but 33 per 
cent. ; Bene Mazar, 55 per cent. ; the Australian mills, 41 per cent, 
and 48 per cent, respectively; and the Colonial Company, 47 per 
cent. This seems to demonstrate that the sulphurous acid gas pro- 
cess, when combined with rapid concentration, realises a larger per- 
centage of marketable sugar than any other system of manufacture ; 
and this result will become still more apparent by an inspection of 
the following table of produce by different mills, from which it will 
be seen that the Aba factory also yields the highest percentage of first 
white sugar : 





Egypt. 


W. Indies. 


New South Wales. 




Aba. 


Bene 
Mazar. 


Colonial 
Company. 


Chats- 
worth. 


South- 
gate. 


„ „ yellow 

Molasses and third sugar 


56-1 

18-7 
25-2 


43-6 

20*8 
35-6 


43-6 

23*6 
32-8 


50 -8 
16-5 
32-7 


62 '5 
8-4 
29-1 




100- 


100- 


ICQ- 


100- 


100- 


Percentage of molasses on first | 
and second sugars . . , . / 


33-7 


55-3 


47-6 


48-6 


41-4 



" The total yield of all sugars and molasses, in pounds per gallon, 
was 1-825 at Aba ; 1*62 and 1*75 in the Australian factories ; and 
2'19 in Demerara, showing that my statement about the bad condition 
of the Egyptian canes is fully borne out. The specific gravity of 
cane juice is affected not only by the saccharine matter it contains, 
but also by the various impurities in solution, and even by solid 
matters in suspension. The density of juice is generally taken by 
Beaume's hydrometer ; and as an illustration of the manner in which 
suspended matter affects its indications, it may be mentioned that 
milk of lime at 70° temperature, as long as it is kept agitated, will 
indicate 10° Beaume when mixed in the proportion of ten parts by 
weight of water to one part of lime, but, when suffered to subside, 
will register only 2° in the clear solution containing one part of lime 
in 700 parts of water. Throughout my experiments the density of the 
juice and syrups was carefully ascertained, and I found, on comparing 
the actual yield of sugar with the tabular quantities represented 
by the density of the juice, that there was a total loss of 5*91 per 
cent. ; and between the quantity contained in the juice entering the 
concentrators, and that held by the syrups running out, a loss of 1*62 
per cent. These results, though valuable as indicating that no great 
error had been committed in the numerous measurements, cannot be 
taken as strictly true, because the readings of the hydrometers were 
imdoubtedly affected by the lime, and its sulphate was proved to have 
been held in solution by the deposits both in the concentrators and in 
the vacuum pans. 

"The information obtainable as to the manner in which the den- 

N 2 



180 



SUGAR. 



sities of saccharine solutions are affected by temperature, and the 
changes of volume which take place in concentration being very 
scanty, experiments were instituted to determine these points accu- 
rately. It was found that at all densities a range of 4° Beaume 
corresponded to a variation of 122° of temperature, and that the law 
of variation in density due to change of temperature is the same as 
in water. The alterations of volume caused by concentration also 
followed closely those calculated from the specific gravity. Crystals, 
separating from impure solutions, are always jDurer than the mother- 
liquors ; hence the dark yellow mass sent down from the vacuum pans, 
when drained from the uncrystallizable sugar and water associated 
with it, leaves a crystalline mass more or less white behind. This 
separation, technically called ' curing,' may be performed by simple 
draining in vessels of suitable form, or, as in refineries, in moulds of 
the familiar sugar-loaf shape, aided by suction : but on sugar estates 
it is generally done in centrifugal machines. When the syrup is 
good, the white crystals may be separated without washing of any 
kind, but generally from a pint to a gallon of water or weak molasses 
is thrown into each charge, to assist in washing the surfaces of the 
crystals ; or the same object may be attained by projecting a jet of 
high-pressure steam against the inside of the revolving ring of 
sugar ; the steam, condensing, washes away the molasses, and at the 
same time heats the mass and makes it dry more quickly when spread 
out afterwards on the mixing floor. Yellow sugars are frequently 
the pure crystals coated with more or less molasses, and therefore 
when considering the relative yield of different factories, it is neces- 
sary to know the quality of first sugars produced, as the loss in 
washing yellow sugars white amounts to between 10 and 30 per 
cent, of their weight. Dry white sugar runs like sand, but yellow 
has a peculiar ' cling ' in it, due to the stickiness of the molasses. 
The most difficult variety to produce is the bright canary-coloured 
sugar, which can only be obtained from very pure bright syrups. 
The mother-liquor, separated from the fii'st sugar, contains a con- 
siderable quantity of crystallizable matter which separates again, as 
in all crystallizing operations, by second concentration, and yields 
the second sugars, which it is generally most profitable to leave in 
the yellow state. The same remarks apply to third and fourth 
boilings. 

" I have been able, with the assistance of the data obtained at 
every step of the manufacture, to calculate the degree of concentra- 
tion necessary in the trays to supply sufficient steam for the vacuum 
pans and steam engines, and then to calculate the probable consump- 
tion of fuel per ton of sugar. By means of the indicator diagrams, 
it has been ascertained that the vacuum and centrifugal engines work 
at 108 collective I.H.P., and as they do not work expansively, and 
there must be considerable loss from condensation in the large steam 
pipes, they probably consume 60 lbs. of steam at 3 lbs. pressure 
per I.H.P. per hour. To supply these engines, therefore, would 
involve the evaporation of 541 gallons of water per hour in the 
concentrators. Supposing the factory to be in full work, each mill 
producing 1500 gallons of juice, that is, 6000 gallons per hour at 



SUGAR. 



181 



10° Beaume collectively, tlie yield of all sugars at the ascertained 
rate would be 6744 lbs. jyev hour. From my observations, it appears 
that the water to be evaporated in boiling down the second and third 
sugars — including one gallon of water added to each centrifugal 
charge — amounts to 60 per cent, of the weight of the totally- 
finished sugars, or to 405 gallons per hour, to which must be added 
10 per cent., or forty gallons for loss by radiation, &c. 6000 gallons 
of raw juice at 72° temperature, when clear of its scum and reduced 
in volume by five minutes' boiling in the clarifiers, would become 
5476 gallons of clarified juice sent down to the concentrators at 72° 
temperature, and would contain 11,700 lbs. absolute sugar, which, 
at the specific gravity of 1*6, would measure 731 gallons. It was 
ascertained that, in the first sugars sent down to the coolers, the 
saccharine matter was associated with water amounting to 80-4 per 
cent, on the yield of all sugars, or 205 gallons per hour. In this 
manner (541+405+40 + 731+205) 1922 gallons of the juice have 
been disposed of, leaving 3554 gallons to be evaporated, one part 
in the vacuum pan being at the expense of the steam raised from 
the other in the concentrators. Allowing 10 per cent, on the total 
amounts for loss and waste, the quantity should be divided in the 
proportion of 60 per cent, to 40 per cent., leaving thus 1422 gallons 
to be evaporated in the vacuum pans hj 2132 gallons, converted 
into steam in the trays. There is then in the syrup ready for the 



trays : 

Galls. Galls. 

Saccharine matter . . 731 

Water associated with first boiling 205 

Water evaporated in vacuum pan 1422 

Total syrup 2358 

Water evaporated in concentrators to produce 

power, and boil second and third sugars , . . . 986 

Water evaporated to boil first sugar 2132 

Total evaporated in trays 3118 

Total clarified juice per hour 5476 



" The syrup, therefore, will form 43 per cent, of the clarified juice, 
and if the latter gauges 10° Beaume, the former would indicate 21° 
Beaume. Comparing this with the observations, it appears that 
153,341 gallons of clarified juice were converted into 72,049 gallons 
of syrup, both at 160°, the latter being 47 per cent, of the former ; 
or if the juice stood at 10° Beaume, the syrup would have indicated 
19° Beaume ; that is, rather less steam was actually generated in the 
trays than the foregoing calculations indicate, which is accounted for 
by the third boilings not having been made during the experiments, 
and, therefore, that much less steam was required by the vacuum 
pans. 

" These calculations agreeing so well with observations make it 
probable that the latter were very accurate, and point to the result 
that by utilizing the steam from the concentrators, the evaporation 
of 57 per cent, of the juice only is necessary to convert the whole 
into sugar and the residuary molasses. For the third boilings, quiet 



182 



SUGAE. 



and uniformity of temperature are necessary. As they have to 
remain crystallizing from three months to six months, a large pro- 
vision of tanks is required. These seem to answer best when built 
of masonry and plastered with native cement. The third boilings 
form about 1^ per cent, of the raw juice ; hence, in a factory work- 
ing ninety days, at the rate of 6000 gallons an hour, tanks to 
accommodate 194,400 gallons would be required. The total horse- 
power required to work the Aba factory, assuming that a cubic foot 
of water at 62° Fahrenheit evaporated at 212° represents a horse- 
power of boiler duty, is computed as follows : 

The four cane-mill engines take 68 I.H.P. each. Allowing h.p. 

25 lbs. of steam per H.P. per hour, which will cover loss by 

steam pipes, &c., they w ill require of boiler power 112*0 

The clarifiers have to heat 6000 gallons of juice per hour, from 

72° to 212° and to boil for five minutes, and will absorb ,. 163-5 
The concentrators having to raise 5473 gallons of juice from 

160° to 280°, and to evaporate 3118 gallons under 3 lbs. 



pressure, will take 519 '0 

Steam under 60 lbs. pressure used in steaming centrifugals, 

calculated 11*2 

Sulphurous acid pumps, calculated 1*5 

Donkey feed-pumps „ 2*3 

Total H.P. = cubic feet of water to evaporate from 62° Fahr. = 809 • 5 



or nearly 11 H.P. per ton of sugar per 24 hours. If 8 lbs. of coal 

are necessary to evaporate a cubic foot of water from 62° then 
6476 lbs. of coal would be necessary to produce 6744 lbs. of sugar, 
or the weight of coal will be 96 per cent, of that of the produce 
in sugars. Supposing the cane mills to express 68 per cent, of juice, 
the 6000 gallons per hour would produce 30,325 lbs. of wet megass. 
From experiments made on a large scale by Mr. Black, the resident 
engineer of the Magaga sugar factory, it appears that dry megass, 
fit for burning, weighs 53 per cent, of the wet ; and he found that 
29,578 lbs. of dry megass did as much as 16,000 lbs. of ordinary 
north country coal, or that it required 1*85 lb. of megass to do the 
same work as 1 lb. of coal. The canes yielding 6000 gallons of 
juice, therefore, produced 16,072 lbs. of dry megass, which, consumed 
in the evaporation of 809 * 5 cubic feet of water, gives nearly 20 lbs. 
of megass to the cubic foot. According to Mr. Black, 14*8 lbs. 
should be enough ; but an imperfect experiment, made on a small 
Cornish boiler at Magaga, gave only 3*06 lbs. of water per 1 lb. 
of megass, or 20*7 lbs. to the cubic foot. As an approximation, 
Mr. Black considers that 1 lb. of coal is equal to 2 lbs. of megass, 
or 16 lbs. of megass to the cubic foot of water, so that there seems 
to be margin enough to warrant the statement, that the refuse of the 
canes should give fuel enough to make the sugar ; and this would 
especially be the case in Egypt, where the climate is favourable to 
drying the megass. 

" In addition to the megass, most of the Egyptian mills are said to 
consume one ton of coal per ton of sugar, but the true statistics are 
difficult to arrive at. I believe that in some of the factories in the 



SUGAK. 



183 



West Indies the consumption of coal has been reduced to a quarter 
of a ton per ton of sugar ; but this is in addition to the megass, and 
triple- action concentrators are in use. The quantity of extra fuel 
required in any case depends upon the percentage of juice pressed 
out. From Mr. Black's experiments at Magaga, dry megass appears 
to contain 10 per cent, of moisture. Payen gives the composition of 
Otaheite cane at maturity as, water 71 per cent., sugar 18 per cent., 
and ligneous and other matters 11 per cent.; consequently the com- 
position of dry megass may be assumed for different degrees of press- 
ing to be as follows : 





Percentage of juice pressed out .. 
Water dried out of megass . . 

„ left in dry megass . . 
Sugar „ ,, .... 
Ligneous matter, &c., left in dryj 


60-0 
211 
1-9 
6-0 

11-0 


70-0 
13-6 
1-6 
3-8 

11-0 


80-0 
5-7 
1-5 
1-8 

11-0 








100-0 


100-0 


100-0 






Percentage of sugar and ligneousl 


28-3 


21-1 


17-3 





"The last set of figures shows how rapidly the fuel available 
decreases with the increased yield of the cane mills. In such great 
factories as that at Aba, when worked only to about a quarter of their 
power, great loss arises from condensation in long and large steam 
pipes, as well as from frequent stoppages for want of cane, and from 
the nature of the case, a really trustworthy return could only be 
obtained from records kept during the whole crop. The megass being 
spread out to dry over many acres of land, it is dif&cult to bring it 
in with the necessary regularity, so that observations taken only 
from day to day would most likely be deceptive. The Aba mill, 
however, was run some days by burning megass only, but no record 
exists as to how the stock of megass which was in course of drying 
was affected. 

" The cost of the machinery, iron buildings, and roofs of the Aba 
factory in England, including also the animal charcoal filters and 
reburning apparatus, which were supplied as a measure of precaution, 
but never erected, was 90,000Z. The cost of the Bene Mazar factory 
for machinery and iron buildings was 130,000Z. Correcting the cost 
of the Aba factory so as to bring it up to the same powers of pro- 
duction as Bene Mazar factory — but deducting the cost of the 
charcoal apparatus — the amount would be 100,000Z., thus showing an 
economy in favour of the sulphurous acid gas over the animal char- 
coal process, in producing white sugar, of 30,000?. on the capital 
account, in addition to a saving of 14,000Z. for the first year, and 
7500L per annum afterwards, in animal charcoal, and labour and fuel 
in using it. The Aba factory was ordered in April, 1870, and the 
whole was made and shipped before the April following. The Bene 



184 



SUGAR. 



Mazar factory was ordered in December 1870, and was all shipped 
by the following November, and dui'ing the same time the Malatea 
factory, as large as Bene Mazar, but which was not to be erected till a 
season later, was constructed and completed, so that in the space of 
nineteen months, machinery to the value of nearly 400,000/. was 
designed, constructed, and shipped. The erections on the spot were 
completed with great rapidity, especially when the obstructions of 
climate and carriage are considered, and the difficulties about straw 
to burn bricks and lime. In conclusion, I think that the large yield 
of first sugar, the small percentage of molasses, the calculations as 
to fuel, and the economy of first cost and working, justify the opinion 
that the sulphurous acid process offers a reasonable prospect of 
success to those who may employ it. It has been widely stated, 
however, that the white sugar produced will lose colour materially 
if kept in bulk. No evidence has, as yet, reached me on this point, 
and I can therefore only state the opinion of many chemists, that 
there does not seem to be any ground for the apprehension." 

The sugar industry of Egypt has made a great extension of late 
years, which can best be judged of by the following statistics. In 
1833 the production was only about 2510 tons. The exports have 
since been as follows : 



Cwts. Cwt5. 

1853 29,276 1865 1,514 

1854 29,943 1866 1,090 

1855 24,056 ! 1867 54,982 

1856 14,237 ! 1868 145,212 

1857 24,999 1869 293.279 

1858 28,261 1870 283,828 

1859 23,517 1871 356,468 

1860 11,681 1872 456,851 

1861 14,184 1873 711,327 

1862 13,226 j 1874 886,914 

1863 7,657 1875 901,535 

1864 2,300 ! 



The small exports of 1863 to 1866 were due to the extension given 
to cotton culture in preference to sugar, owing to the scarcity of that 
staple. 

There is perhaps no other instance of a continuously rapid rise in 
the production of a staple article of commerce, and which with the 
annexed Soudan and other districts bids fair to go on advancing 
in an equally rapid rate. To the seventeen sugar works previously 
belonging to the Khedive five more have been added since 1872. The 
annual production of these twenty-two works is about 14,625 tons. 
The Khedive has 65,000 acres under sugar-cane, and private in- 
dividuals 35,000. The production of canes is about 53,550 kilos, per 
hectare (2J acres), and the yield of sugar is 8 or 9 per cent. About 
two-thirds of the sugar produced is white and one-third red sugar. 

Zanzibar. — The soil of this island, our consul tells us, is eminently 
adapted for the growth of sugar ; labour is cheap, ground rent very 
low, and every condition exists for securing an ample return for 
capital sunk in a sugar factory. Sugar to the value of 3000Z. was 
shipped in 1864. 

Natal. — The varieties of cane grown here are the Bourbon, black 



SUGAR. 



185 



Cheribon, yellow, and ribbon. On some of the estates the sugar is manu- 
factured bj the common process, viz. flat open battery and Wetzell pan. 
As an instance of the cheapness of the plant used, that on one estate, 
J. Johnston and Sons, Helmsfield, cost but 1300Z. beyond their own 
labour, and consists of mill, two clarifiers, flat battery of four pans, 
with iron tache and dipper. The liquor is reduced to about 26° Beaume. 
in the tache, from whence it is skipped into a reservoir ; after sub- 
siding a short time, it is run into a steam pan and finished. The pan 
is heated by steam coil, the temperature being kept down to about 
180° by lathed revolving drums. 

Besides the home consumption, the following figures show the 
progressive exports of sugar : 



Cwts. 

1860 2-1:, 369 

1865 74,185 



Cwts. 

1870 106,572 

1874 136,656 



Jamaica. — The exports of sugar from this island have varied in the 
last eight years from 29,000 hogsheads to 37,000 hogsheads ; of rum, 
from 16,000 puncheons to 20,000 puncheons. There was in 1874 
47,565 acres under cultivation with sugar-cane in the island. The 
attention of sugar planters here has been for some years past given 
rather to improvement of cultivation than to increase of acreage 
under canes. 

This calculation gives only about three-quarters of a hogshead (or 
12 cwts.) as the average produce in sugar for an acre of canes in the 
colony. The extreme smallness of this return is owing to the system 
of more or less permanent ratooning practised in small parishes, where 
on some estates a complete field of yearling plants is hardly ever to be 
seen ; the plants that fail being replaced yearly, plant by plant. Of 
course the produce is very small, but so also are the expenses and the 
risk ; and it is the opinion of some that the financial result of this 
cheap system (which avoids the chance of the loss of a field of young 
plants from a drought) is good. However that may be, the practice 
greatly reduces the average produce of an acre of cane throughout the 
colony. 

The export of sugar in the crop years 1870-71 (37,000 hogsheads) 
was larger than it had been for nineteen years. The following shows 
the exports : 



Hhds. 

1866 33,637 

1867 .. .. .. 31,206 

1868 36,259 

1869 29,268 

1870 31,966 

Comparison of progress : 



Hhds. 

1871 37,010 

1872 35,553 

1873 28,428 

1874 28,398 





Year. 


Sugar. 


Eum. 






1854 
1864 
1874 


558,571 cwts. 
522,498 „ 
29,378 hhds. 


1,665,932 galls. 

1,280,854 „ 
29,378 „ 
19,351 puns. 





186 



SUGAR. 



The consumption of sugar in the island is estimated at about 
6000 hogsheads. 

In Jamaica, in the Government botanic gardens, eighteen selected 
varieties of new canes have been planted out, and as many more are 
under trial, to ascertain which are the best for general cultivation. 
Encouraging accounts have been received from different parts of the 
island of the Salangore cane, which grows with great vigour, and the 
number of shoots from each stool is remarkable. It requires to 
be planted wider apart than the space allotted to other canes. 

Colonel Stewart's patent for desiccating cane juice by sulphurous 
acid gas injected into the liquor has been adopted on Bushy Park 
estate, St. Catherine. On Belmont estate, in the same parish, the 
double retort system of distillation has been introduced. The high 
price obtained for rum caused sugar to be sacrificed to a large extent, 
and the manufacture of rum increased from an average of two-thirds 
to almost a puncheon for a hogshead. 

At Nightingale Grove and Wales estates, in Trelawney, centrifugal 
machines have been erected. In Westmoreland a few more centri- 
fugal draining machines have been introduced, and Wetzell's pan 
and centrifugal machines have been set up at Holland estate, in St. 
Elizabeth. 

An astonishing extent of sugar cultivation is now carried on among 
the peasantry, for a return presented to the Legislative Council, in 
1871, showed no less than 5615 small sugar mills to be in use. The 
average make of these is about two hogsheads per annum. In some 
cases the sugar thus produced is sent down to the coast and exported, 
but by far the largest part of it is consumed in the island. Cultiva- 
tion among the large proprietors has been considerably extended in 
many cases, and several abandoned properties have been reclaimed, 
and irrigation adopted on a large scale with gratifying results. 

The enterprising proprietor of Albion estate, St. Thomas, has 
established a vacuum pan and centrifugal apparatus. The sugar 
produced by the machinery is of a very superior character, equalling 
the best Demerara crystallized sugar, which is sold so largely for 
consumption in the United States. 

This is quite a new feature in the history of Jamaica sugar manu- 
facture, which has long been notorious for servile adherence to ancient 
routine. 

Barbados. — This small island usually produces a large quantity of 
sugar, but the crop is of com'se affected by seasons and other causes. 

The years 1859 and 1860 were bad crops, the next two years good, 
followed by two bad. The four years, 1865 to 1868, were very good 
crops ; 1869 was a poor one. There are about 35,000 acres under cane : 



Year. j Sugar. ] Rum. 

I 

185i 50,000 khds. \ 1,402 hhds. 

1864 37, 038 „ 37,156 gaUs. 

1874 47,355 „ ! 16,8Ul „ 



The new method of stirring the sugar, by the oscillating process, 
after it has been poui'cd from the copper into the cooler until the 



SUGAR. 



187 



granulation is complete, instead of allowing it to cool in a solid mass 
as by the old process, is now very general. The stirring is commonly 
effected by a disc revolving in the cooler, which takes up and scatters 
the fluid sugar. The result is that the sugar crystallizes in larger 
grains, and parts more quickly and entirely with the molasses, so 
that there is less drainage on the voyage. Sugar made in this way 
sells for nearly 2s. a cwt. more than the produce of the same land 
made by the old process. 

Tortola cannot now, as in her palmy days, boast of wealthy estate 
proprietors ; and the relation existing between the labourer and the 
estate owners here is very different from that in other and larger 
colonies. The principle upon which they work is this : Those small 
farmers who cultivate canes upon their own land allow to the owner 
of the sugar works one-third of their sugar as payment for its manu- 
facture. Others who cultivate a plot belonging to the same owner as 
the sugar mill receive one-half of the sugar as their proportion, the 
other half being claimed by the proprietor of the land and sugar 
mill as an equivalent for rent and manufacturing expenses. 

St. Kitts. — The average produce of sugar in this island is about 
10,000 hhds., 300 tierces, and 6000 barrels of sugar, 4000 puncheons 
of molasses, and 600 puncheons of rum. 

It may be well to publish here for reference by the planter the 
analyses of twelve different specimens of canes, by Dr. Stenhouse. 





Trinidad. 


Berbice. 


Dem- 
erara. 


Gre- 
nada. 


Jamaica. 




1 


2 


3 




5 




7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


Silica . . . . 


45 


9Y 


42 


90 


46-46 


41 


•37 


46 


48 


50 


00 


45 


13: 


17 


64 


26 


38 


52-20 


48-73 


54 


59 


Phosphoric acid 


3 


76 




99 


8-23 




59 


8 


16 


6 


56 


4 


88 




37 


6 


20 


13-04 


2-90 


8 


00 


Sulphuric acid 


6 


66 


10 


94 


4-65 


10 


93 


7 


•52 


6 


40 


7 


74 


7 


97 


6 


08 


3-31 


5-35 


1 


9 


Lime . . . . 


9 


16 


13 


20 


8-91 


9 


11 


5 


78 


5 


09 


4 


49. 


2 


34 


5 


87 


10-64 


11-62 


14 


36 


Magnesia 


3 


66 


9 


88 


4-50 


6 


92 


15 


61 


13 


01 


11 


90^ 


3 


93 


5 


48 


5-63 


5-61 


5 


30 


Potash . . . . 


25 


50 


12 


01 


10-63 


15 


99 


11 


93 


13 


69 


16 


97 


32 


93 


31 


21 


10-09 


7-46 


11 


14 


Soda . . . . 






1 


39 











57 


1 


33 


1 


64 










0-80 








Chloride of) 
Potassium . . 3 


3 


27 






7-41 


8 


96 












. 


10 


70 


11 


14 




16-06 





84 


Chloride of ) 
Sodium . . 3 


2 


02 


1 


62 


9-21 


2 


13 


3 


95 


3 


92 


7 


25 


17 


20 


7 


64 


4-29 


2-27 


3 


83 



The first seven were all fine canes with the leaves ; the eighth had 
no leaves ; No. 9, but few leaves ; No. 10 was in full blossom, and 
had been manured with pen manure ; No. 11 were old ratoons, 
manured in the same way ; and No. 12 were young Mont Blanc canes, 
manured with pen manure, guano, and marl. This is a valuable 
analysis, from having been made from entire canes. 

By comparing these elements together, we observe that the pro- 
portion of potash and silica is great in all of them ; phosphorus, 
sulphur, and lime also exist in considerable quantities in all the spe- 
cimens, while soda is variable in some and non-existent in others, and 
chloride of sodium, or common salt, is abundant in the Demerara 
specimen, and varies much in the different specimens. We may there- 
fore conclude that the sugar-cane is a plant requiring : 

Istly. A considerable supply of those two substances found gene- 
rally coexistent with nitrogenized compounds in all animals and 
vegetables, viz. nhosphorus and sulphur. 



188 



SUGAE. 



2ndly. A large supply of potash and silica, particularly the last. 

3rdly. That lime and magnesia are also essential ingredients (the 
first in the larger quantity), while soda is not essential to its growth, 
and that common salt while appearing also to be an essential ingre- 
dient is not so in any large quantity, but if presented to the cane may 
be absorbed by it to a great extent, no doubt injuriously. 

Dominica. — The following gives the exports for this island : 



Year. 


Sugar. 


Molasses. 


Eum. 






1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 


cwts. 
56,337 
68,942 
65,650 
73,203 
66,220 


galls. 
54,400 
95,520 
90,940 
88,732 
94,015 


galls. 
55,063 
49,740 
45,719 
36,021 
40,615 





Montserrat. — The cultivation of the sugar-cane is carried on in 
the different stages of preparing the ground, planting, weeding, and 
reaping, generally on the task-work system. The work is hard 
enough while it lasts, but the labourers, male and female, who com- 
mence working at 6.30 a.m., finish their task about 11 a.m. A large 
proportion of the agricultural labourers and rural artisans, carpenters, 
masons, &c., are owners or renters of pieces of land ranging from 
half an acre to two or three acres in extent, and planted in canes or 
provisions. The lower slopes of the loftier and the summits of the 
lower hills of this mountainous little island are marked by the clear- 
ings of these small cultivators, and nothing can surpass the vigour 
and energy with which this peasantry of African descent labour on 
these holdings of their own. Here and there may be seen the creaking 
cattle mill and even windmill which, with a little boiling house, 
some labourer or mechanic, intelligent, frugal, and enterprising beyond 
his fellows, has contrived to erect, and to this little factory his neigh- 
bours carry their bundles of ripe canes to be converted into sugar, 
one-third of which is kept as remuneration for the manufacturer. 
The sugar lands of many proprietors of considerable importance are 
cultivated more or less on the half system, a system by which the 
peasant occupiers of small plots of land are bound to grow canes 
which are brought at crop time to the works of the proprietor, who 
retains half the sugar produced as rent for his land. 

The following statement shows the shipment of sugar and molasses 
for seven years : 



Y'ear. 


Sugar. ' 


Molasses. 




hhds. 


puns. 


1865 


1039 


236 


i 1866 


1607 


393 


' 1867 


915 


176 


; 1868 


1662 


534 


1869 


1794 


503 


i 1870 


1879 


418 


1871 


1891 


466 



SUGAR. 



189 



Sf. Lucia. — The crop of 1871 was the largest ever produced in the 
island. The shipments have been : 











]Vf o1rss6S. 






1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 


lbs. 

11,118,829 
10,517,725 
12,444,153 
12,918,960 


galls. 
191,400 
205,000 
153,000 
234,800 


galls. 

2,058 
1,840 
2,461 
9,316 





The increased production of sugar in St. Lucia is attributed rather 
to extended area of cultivation than to improvement in culture. That 
less energy is shown in the latter respect is considered to be owing — 
in a measure — to the extraordinary fertility of the soil, which, not 
uncommonly, produces a crop from the same cane plants for twenty 
years in succession; whereas, in most other countries, the fields 
require to be planted every two or three years. The system of agri- 
culture, as in most of the West India Islands, is somewhat rude ; but 
signs of efforts to improve it are not altogether wanting. Virgin soil 
is being broken for the purpose in all directions ; and while no estates 
have latterly been abandoned, some have been reclaimed, and others, 
which a few years ago grew little else but weeds and trees, are now 
yielding abundant crops. 

Besides extension of cultivation, there is a progress in manufacture 
which makes further improvement probable, and will certainly render 
it more easy. Steam power is gradually superseding all other for 
grinding purposes. Fourteen steam mills were imported in 1870, of 
which seven replaced others that had been moved by wind, water, or 
cattle, and seven were destined for newly-opened estates. To meet 
any reduction in prices, improvement in the quality of the sugar 
grown upon this island, which is almost exclusively of the low class, 
is without doubt of the first importance. The estates are, for the 
most part, too small to support singly expensive works, such as pro- 
duce the crystallized sugar of Demerara ; and on this account the 
co-operative system, which has achieved extraordinary results in the 
neighbouring colony of Martinique, would appear to offer by far the 
best prospect of success. Its chief distinctive feature is the entire 
separation of agriculture from manufactm*e. Though co-operation has 
proved useful for the introduction of the system, and has tended greatly 
to enhance its profits, it is not essential to it. Before this innovation 
every sugar planter in the West Indies was also a manufacturer. He 
not only grew canes, but ground them, and turned their juice into sugar. 

Under the Martinique system, the division of labour is complete. 
The planter is merely a planter, and sugar making is an entirely 
separate occupation. A central " Usine " manufactures the canes of a 
number of neighbouring estates, and pays for them by weight, irre- 
spective of the sugar produced ; so that the planter, after delivering 
the raw produce, has no further concern with it, and he is enabled to 
devote his capital and energy exclusively to the improvement of his 
cultivation. The first factories were established under agreement as 
to full supplies of material with the neighbouring planters, who also 
furnished a considerable portion of the capital. But now others are 



190 



SUGAE. 



in operation, which have dispensed with a part of this security, and 
which partially depend for supplies on the growers' self-interest. It 
was, in fact, taken for granted by their projectors that the planters 
would sell their canes rather than make sugar themselves. This cal- 
culation was more than justified by the event. Canes are now coming 
to these factories from most unexpected sources, and from distances 
of 8 and 10 miles. Further proof is scarcely needed to show that the 
planters are deriving benefit from the new system. Though the 
extent of that benefit cannot of course be known, a notion of it can be 
formed from the price given for the canes. The lowest price offered 
by the Usines is the market value of 5 lbs. of the best common process 
sugar for every 100 lbs. of canes ; and this is only 1 per cent, less on 
the average than is obtained by those planters who incur the risk, 
anxiety, and expense of manufacture. There is, however, more definite 
knowledge as to the profits of the manufacturer, who so far deserves 
them that he produces the best sugar yet exported from the West 
Indies. " The Usine of Frangois," established in 1866, in the subse- 
quent four years declared dividends as follows : in 1867, 19 per cent. ; 
in 1868, 37 per cent. ; in 1869, 48 per cent. ; and in 1870, 36 per 
cent.; the decrease in the latter year was merely the result of the 
disasters in France, which receives the bulk of the Martinique sugars. 

Grenada. — The great difficulty with which planters here have to 
contend is the paucity of labour and the badness of the roads. 
Whereas in this island nature is so bountiful that a family with but 
little labour can raise their own fruit and vegetables on an acre or 
two of land, where also, from the habits of the negroes and the 
climate, their wants and requirements are but few, it cannot be 
expected that they will labour on estates more days than sufficient 
to supply such requirements. Moreover, on the abandoned estates, 
they can squat unmolested, and do so in large numbers. 

The exports have been as follows : 



Year. 


Sugar. 


Eum. 




tons. 


galls. 


1869 


3,254 


131,243 


1870 


3,880 


70,775 , 


1871 


5,256 


65,950 



St. Vincent — The following table gives a comparison of the ex- 
ported produce of this colony : 



Year. 


Sugar. 


Rum. 


Molasses. 




hhds. 


puns. 


puns. 


1862 


8,503 
8,756 


1,827 


305 


1863 


1,554 


409 


1864 


8,163 


1,284 


1,418 


1865 


8,454 


1,794 


916 


1866 


10,984 


1,796 


1,063 


1867 


11,137 


1,683 


1,209 


1868 


11,248 


1,634 


. 1,359 


1869 


11,164 


358 


3,783 


1870 


12,948 


2,155 


1,638 


1871 


13,315 


2,656 


953 



SUGAE. 



191 



Althougli no additional land has been brought into cultivation, by 
more attention to clearing the canes and a greater use of manures, 
a rather larger yield per acre has been obtained. 

Trinidad. — About 1,000,000Z. a year is the value of the products of 
the sugar-cane in this island in good years. 

The exports were in — 





Year. 


Sugar. 


Molasses. 


Rum. 






1854 
1864 
1874 


lbs. 

50,055,998 
79,109,650 
99,739,550 


galls. 
782,401 
1,576,105 
1,697,131 


galls. 
285,446 
60,075 
39,761 





In 1796, one hundred and fifty-nine sugar plantations produced 
7800 hhds. of sugar; in 1802, one hundred and ninety-two estates 
produced 15,461 hhds. 

A large Usine has now been for some years at work for the Colonial 
Company, in the midst of their estates in Naparima, Trinidad. 

The Governor of the colony, in one of his official reports, thus 
speaks of the position of the sugar industry : 

" Steam ploughs, adapted to climate and locality, with alterations 
suggested by the experience of one of the ablest agriculturists, have 
succeeded the earlier machines. Along with this, subsoil drainage 
has been recommended. These two steps united will not only yield 
the usual increase of nearly 50 per cent, in the field, but render the 
planter who is in a position to adopt them, greatly independent of 
those climatic vicissitudes of flood or drought which interfere so 
ruinously with cane culture. The cane-carrier, that indispensable 
adjunct in lessening the most laborious branch of manufacture, may 
be seen now in every district, and tramways are being multiplied 
in connection with the mammoth mills which have here and there 
displaced the toy-like mechanism introduced some twenty years 
since. Road-steamers, too, of various build, may be met on the 
highways. 

" But the manufacture of sugar has not quite kept pace with these 
improvements ; little has been done to remedy its defects, or to arrest 
the waste due to the old method of frying the cane juice in iron 
vessels. A few steam taches for open-air concentration, but which 
rarely work at a low temperature, expedite somewhat the process with- 
out improving much the quality. These last may be taken as indicating 
the ultimate stage of progress rendered here in a boiling house. 
What that stage actually represents in the history of sugar manufac- 
ture may be gathered from Stammer's exhaustive work on this subject 
finished since the fall of Paris. Speaking of the present mode of 
extracting sugar from the beet, he says : ' In some antiquated esta- 
blishments may still be seen a few open pans heated by steam, but 
these are being rapidly disused.' 

" This, then, is the ground on which the great staple of the colony 
now rests. It is in vain, I apprehend, to reassert the fact that ripe 
canes contain double the quantity of sugar yielded by the beet, and 
that average soil produces twice the weight of canes that it does of 



192 



SUGAB. 



beet, if the cane planter is unable to bring any more efficient mode of 
manufacture tban his old iron kettles in competition with the econo- 
mical and scientific arrangements of the triple effet by Cail and others. 
There is, however, the dawn of better things at hand, in the complete 
separation of manufacture from agriculture, by the Colonial Company 
Limited, at their great central Usine at St. Madelaine. This step 
was alone required in the British West Indies to place a portion 
at least of its crop abreast of the rival beet, and with corresponding 
advance in agriculture, the sugar-cane may hold its own. The Usine 
of St. Madelaine is a triumph of capital, skill, and energy, and will 
be the pioneer of other establishments in pouring forth a crystallized 
sugar for the million. 

" Of its success there can be no more question than of that of kindred 
establishments in the French islands, which have wisely adopted the 
suitable points of their national beet factories. These colonial Usines 
are reported, on good authority, to have cleared, according to circum- 
stances of position and management, from 25 to 45 per cent, on the 
capital invested. 

This refers to the manufacture alone. As regards the cultivators 
of the cane, all of whom were more or less deeply involved, they are 
now, as regards at least one Usine Centrale, unembarrassed and mostly 
in receipt of fair revenues. There is therefore every inducement to 
lead the capitalists of this colony to embark at once in the double but 
separate businesses of realising the profit of both agriculture and 
manufacture. Should they, however, leave this desirable ground to 
be occupied by capitalists unconnected with and apart altogether from 
the acreage supplying the canes, the error will be irremediable." 

A Trinidad paper of September 26, 1876, thus speaks of the sugar 
crop of the island : 

" The quantity of sugar produced in each county this year was as 



follows : 

Hhds. Estates. 

St. George, or noith- west county 13,560 24 

Caroui, or west centre, north 17,061 35 

Victoria, or west centre, south 23,910 44 

St. Patrick, or south-west county 4,544 11 

Total 59,075 114 



" No sugar appears to have been made in the four eastern counties ; 
at least if a trifling quantity was granulated at Mayaro, as is some- 
times done, it has not been ascertained. Probably the small quantity 
of canes grown on that side was pressed only for syrup and molasses. 
The list of active estates is under the actual number of plantations 
having separate mills and management, the return in many instances 
throwing the produce of two large adjoining estates, or three, into one 
figure. The real number is therefore nearer 124 than 114. 

" Of the sugar of St. George, only 949 hhds. from five estates now 
come from the plain and valleys north and west of the town. The 
remainder all comes from the plain east of Port-of-Spain and north of 
the Caroni river. The Caroni waterslope yielded 12,881 hhds. north 
of the river and 3137 south of it, the latter a quantity and ratio that 



SUGAR. 



193 



is pretty certain to show a steady advance for some years ; total for 
1876, 16,018 liMs. The Chaguane quarter or Ward gave 3751 hhds., 
and the Couva Union, 8944. This takes us to the watershed of the 
Montserrat hills. The Guaracara estates, North Naparima and Savana 
Grande, yielded 13,747 hhds. ; South Naparima, 11,122 hhds. ; Oro- 
pouche, 1494 hhds. ; and Cedros, 3050 hhds. This sums up the yield 
of the whole present sugar-making area of the colony. 

" Glassed under the various drainage districts, the result is as 
follows : 

Hhds. 

North and west of the Laventille spur of hills . . . . 949 

The Oaroni basin 16,018 

The northern drainage from the Montserrat range .. 12,695 
Drainage from the Montserrat ridge (northern slope 

of Guaracara basin) to Oropouche lagoon . . . . 24 , 869 
From the lagoon to Cedros (the south-west peninsula) 4 , 544 

Total 59,075 



" In soil and vicinage, the Oropouche district and the strip of plain 
across the lagoon (in which the first cane-pieces are now being opened 
by the Messrs. Tennant), belong to Naparima, and may claim to 
be classed as part of that superlatively fine cane district. 

"Summarizing this statement, it appears that the Colonial Company's 
estates this year made 9262 hhds. ; those of the Messrs. Tennant, 
8397 hhds. ; those of Mr. Turnbull (with Jones's estates), 4891 hhds.; 
Mr. Burnley's, 4297 hhds. ; and Mr. Cumming's, 3300 hhds. It will 
be perceived these figures account for more than half of the crop. The 
Usine is down for 3164 hhds. Eight persons or interests besides the 
above five, made over 1000 hhds., and two between 900 and 1000 
hhds. Comparing with the previous year, 1875, the crop is about 
11,500 hhds. short, the deficiency being spread over all the counties 
except St. George, which made 2200 hhds. more this year than last. 
Victoria alone is 8000 hhds. short, its soil and roads yielding most 
readily to heavy rain. 

"Dividing the production of the year by 114, the average would be 
518 hhds. (against 624 last year) ; but if by 124, which is about the 
number of separately milled and worked estates, it will be seen to be 
476 hhds. per estate. Only five estates made less than 100 hhds. 
apiece. With a longer open season, the Naparima crop, in particular, 
would have been a much heavier one." 

Exports of sugar from Trinidad : 





Cwts. 




Cwts. 






1867 .. . 


828,116 




549,464 
.. 738,117 


1868 , 


830,708 


1862 . . 


1869 


929,365 


1863 .. , 


, 668,255 


1870 , 


, 819,043 


1864 .. . 


706,246 


1871 


1,071,839 


1865 .. . 


560,166 


1874 .. 


. .. 890,533 


1866 .. . 


813,339 







Martinique. — In this island the number of hectares under culture 
with the cane in 1874 was 19,314, and there were 564 sugar pieces 
and small plantations. The number of labourers employed was 





194 



SUGAB. 



33,643. There were 88 sugar estates 
14 central Usines or sugar works. 
The production has been as follows : 



possessing steam mills, and 



Year. 



1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 



Sugar. 



Molasses. 



kilos. 
32,691,550 
33,202,000 
35,068,600 
36,613,895 
36,664,000 
37,820,000 
38,084,000 
38,023,000 
37,835,400 
38,653,000 



litres. 
7,909,700 
7,920,650 
7,682,500 
7,942,000 
6,488,000 
6,343,000 
6,437,000 
6,324,000 
6,160,000 
6,206,000 



Rum. 



litres. 
6,220,500 
6,272,050 
6,086,000 
6,321,000 
5,268,000 
5,084,000 
5,239,000 
5,218,000 
5,200,000 
5,320,000 



The sugar crop of Martinique is probably less than one-half of that 
of Trinidad; the superior quality, however, manufactured by the 
Usines, raises the value of the crop much more in proportion. 

The finest soil lies to the north and north-east of the island, where 
the estates are on a much larger scale than on the south side ; the 
soil is volcanic, and cartage of canes or produce practicable at all 
seasons. 

The seasons also are not so marked to the north of the island, less 
rain falling in the dry season than elsewhere ; so much so, that sugar 
making and cultivation may be carried on at almost any period of the 
year. The showers fall principally in the early morning. 

There are no Usines to the north. The largest estate there makes 
nearly 1000 barriques, equal to about 450 hhds. of a ton weight. The 
average crop of an estate is, however, from 500 to 600 barriques. 

There will be shortly two Usines near St. Pierre, one of which has 
been for some time in operation, and the other in course of con- 
struction to the south of the town of St. Pierre. The Usines are 
principally erected in the southern part of the island, in the direction 
of and beyond Fort de France (as it is now called), where the country 
is more level, and the facilities greater for bringing the canes by rail 
to the Usines. The estates by which these Usines are now fed were 
formerly small properties, with inferior machinery of little power, 
making each from 140 to 180 tons of sugar. These small estates 
now grow more than double their former crops, which are manu- 
factured on the Usines into sugar of three qualities, i. e. : — 1st class 
sugar, of large and strong crystals and to all intents and purposes 
white ; the 2nd class article, made from the molasses boiled a first 
time, resembles the ordinary crushed sugar imported from England, 
but is not quite so white ; the 3rd class is superior in colour to the 
best muscovado, though somewhat inferior in grain. 

The Usines or central sugar factories having attracted consider- 
able attention as to their working and alleged successful operations, 
several official visits were made to them in 1872, and reports sub- 
mitted. The following is one by Mr. R. H. Burton, Commissioner 
from Porto Rico. 



SUGAR. 



195 



There are fifteen Usines or central sugar factories in tlie island 
of Martinique, tlie greater number are in the vicinity of the Bay of 
Fort de France, within easy water communication, or having tram- 
ways from the establishments to their wharves. 



Xame of Factories." 



1. Galion 



La Renty . . . . | 
Soudon . . . . 
Dillon .. .. 
Robert .. .. | 
La Riviere 7 | 

Blanche .. y 
Pointe Simon . . 
Petit Bourg . . 
La Riviere 1 1 

Salee . . ..51 
Francis . . . . 
St. Marie . . . . \ 
Trois Rivieres 
Simon 

Trinite . . . 
Maria . . . 



Name of Director. 


Class of 
Company, &c. 


Yield 

on 
Canes. 


No. of 
Hhds 
for ' 
Crop 
1871. 


Power of 
Usine in 
Hhds. 
of 500 
Kilos. 


Era- 
ployed. 


Price 
paid 
for 
Canes. 


Briere de I'lsle, Walle and 7 
Clerc 5 


Commandite 


8-86 


3,860 


4,000 


£ 

98,000 


d. 
H 


Quennesson and Co 

M. Daniel Guillaud . . . . 


Prive 
Anonyme 
Ditto 
Ditto 


7-86 

7-20 
7 "15 


7,494 

2^200 
2,700 


10,000 
6,000 
6,000 
4,000 


120,000 
80,000 
92,000 
56,000 


5 

H 
H 

5 




Commandite 




1,300 


4,000 


48,000 


5 


Quennesson and Co 

Bougenot and Quennesson 


Prive 

Commandite 


7-26 
7-03 


3,657 
2,500 


6,000 
4,000 


48,000 
48,000 


5 
5 


M. Daniel Guillaud . . . . 


Ditto 


7-50 


3,000 


6,000 


48,000 


5 


Quennesson and Bougenot 
M. Premorant la Bougery 

il. Briere de I'lsle . . . . 

M. Bally 

M, Charles Harouard 


Ditto 

Anonyme 

Commandite 

Anonyme 

Ditto 

Commandite 


7-57 
7-26 

5-83 

7-92 


2,900 
1,700 
1,450 
1,900 
1,700 
2,100 


5,000 
4,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,500 


48,000 
48,000 
32,000 
30,000 
30,000 
34,000 


5 

5^- 

5 

5 

5i 
6 








38,455 


67,500 


860,000 





The figures for the crops of Dillon and La Riviere Blanche Usines 
are those of the number of hogsheads made in 1872, this being the 
first crop. 

Usines Galion, Bohert, Francois, Trinite, and Simon, are on the east 
coast ; on the north coast, where the large estates are located, there 
are none ; neither do the planters of that district appear to desire 
them ; the north has always been the most productive part of 
Martinique, the estates there being well cultivated, and having good 
machinery ; those districts where the central factories are now estab- 
lished, except La Benhj, situated in the level lands of the neighbour- 
hood of the town of La Martin, never had the latter advantage. 

As an example of the working expenses and net returns of the 
French Usines, I have copied from the books of several of these their 
last year's results. To abbreviate as much as possible, but at the 
same time to give a fair idea of what they do produce, I take those 
of the three Usines, under the direction of men such as Messrs. 
Quennesson and Bougenot, who are those who have brought the 
Usines to theii^ present state of prosperity. 

Pointe Simon, the first established, is situated close to the sea, at 
the western extremity of the City of Fort de France. For many 
years it was a complete failure, and ruined its projector, Mr. Thorp, 
an Englishman. At his death it was taken over by the house of 
Cail, to whom it was heavily indebted, and, under the judicious 
administration of Monsieur Quennesson, aided by the Messrs. Busine, 
not only liquidated itself in a very few years, but gives annually a large 
net revenue. Its unsuccess at first is to be attributed to the inferior 
machinery employed, and the want of practical experience on the part 



196 



SUGAR. 



of its projector. This Usine iu 1872 made 1,825,550 kilogrammes 
of sugar, 189,791 litres of rum, selling also 130,000 litres of 
molasses, and gave a net return, after paying all expenses, of 400,000 
francs. 

La Bentij, situated in the fertile plain of La Martin, passed through 
the same ordeal. Its founder, the Baron de la Eenty, proprietor of 
three sugar estates, established it with the view of concentrating the 
manufacture of the sugar of these properties, but being without 
practical experience, he sank a large fortune here, when, finally, in- 
debted to the house of Cail, their Agent, Monsieur Quennesson, offered 
to lease it for nine years, giving 50,000 francs to the Baron yearly in 
cash, and two-thirds of the net proceeds, which was to be dedicated to 
the reduction of the debt with the Messrs. Busine, as sub-directors. 
This Usine has cleared itself. It made last year 3,747,043 kilo- 
grammes of sugar, which, with its proportion of rum and molasses, 
gave net, after paying all working expenses and repairs, 807,000 francs, 
equal to 32,280L sterling. 

Frangois was established by a company " en Commandite," formed 
by Messrs. Quennesson and Bougenot. Profiting by their long ex- 
perience they placed in this Usine most effective machinery ; it was 
supplied by the house of Cail ; the mill, for its size, is excellent, and 
was the largest then imported to Martinique. The arrangement 
for supplying the cane-carrier with canes from the waggons on the 
railroad could scarcely be improved on. This Usine was the first 
built of iron, with the sides filled in with brickwork, on a fixed plan 
to receive the machinery. Everything was arranged to facilitate the 
work, and from the offset it has been the most successful Usine in 
Martinique. The shares emitted at 500 francs (twenty pounds ster- 
ling), are quoted now at 1250 francs (fifty pounds sterling). 

A hogshead of sugar in the French Usine weighs 500 kilogrammes, 
equal to 1102 lbs. avoirdupois. 

The yield per cent, on canes ground varies considerably in the 
different Usines. It depends on the density of the juice extracted 
from the cane, and also on the greater or less perfection of the 
machinery employed, and the carefulness of the operators. Taking 
Usine La Benty as a fair average, it will be seen they there obtain 
7'86 per cent, of crystallizable sugar, and about 3 per cent, of 
molasses. The molasses is of an inferior quality, and is converted 
into rum. 

In 1871 La Benty purchased 47,615,538 kilogrammes of canes, 
paying 5 per cent, on weight of cane according to the market value 
in St. Pierre, of " bonne quatrieme" sugar, "No. 12 Dutch standard." 
These canes produced : 



In 1st jet 
„ 2nd jet 
„ 3rd jet 

Total 



Cane. 


Sugar. 




kilos. 
2,883,358 
653,685 
210,000 


per cent. 
6-05 
1-37 
•44 




3,747,043 


7-86 





SUGAB. 



197 



or 104,974,229 lbs. cane produced 8,260,810 lbs. sugar. This sugar, 
with rum and molasses, was sold for — 

Francs. 
Francs. 2,461,000 

The canes cost 1,075,095 

The total working expenses were .. 578,905 

1,654,000 

Net benefit 807,000 



The director of this Usine receives 24,000 francs per annum, and 
the two sub-dii'ectors each 10,000 francs, with a percentage on net 
proceeds. The cane weigher receives 6000 francs. 

Most of the Usines make only first jet, i. e. sugar extracted from the 
cane juice, and second jet, that made from the first molasses. The 
difference in the two classes of sugar is trifling, but third and fourth 
jet are much inferior, and require a great extent of cooler-room, the 
masse-cuiie of these jets having to remain at times six to eight weeks 
in the coolers to granulate, and most Usine directors prefer to convert 
their second molasses into rum. The rum made in these factories is 
of very superior quality, and they should, in my opinion, be so con- 
structed that this might be optional, according to the relative value of 
each product in the market. 

The following schedule shows the number of pounds of canes 
ground to make each hogshead of 1102 lbs. sugar; and canes ground 
for each 100 lbs. sugar, made in the year 1871, in the three Usines 
before mentioned, with the expenses in francs for the canes taken to 
make each hogshead, manufacturing or current expenses of the factory 
per hogshead during the twelve months, and net profit. 



Name of Usine. 


Number of lbs. of 
Canes ground per 


Cost per Hogshead. 


Net Profit 
to Usine 


Hhd. 1102 
lbs. Sugar. 


100 lbs. 
Sugar. 


Canes. 


General 
Expenses. 


Total. 


per Hhd. of 
1102 lbs. 


La Eenty 
Pointe Simon , . 


14,007 
13,853 
15,056 


1,275 
1,257 
1,368 


frs. cts. 
143 43 
139 31 
153 98 


frs. cts. 
77 24 
81 52 
71 29 


frs. cts. 
220 67 
220 83 
225 27 


frs. cts. 
107 68 
129 96 
100 55 


Average .. 


14,305 


1,300 


145 57 


76 68 


222 26 


115 73 






£ s. a. 
5 16 51 


£ s. d. 
3 14 


£ s. d. 

8 17 91 


£ s. d. 
4 12 7 



Thirteen tons of canes for one ton of sugar. Or, in other words, 
for each hundred pounds of canes purchased by the Usine, the planter 
received 9JcZ. ; the general expenses of the Usine were, during the 
twelve months, h\d. on every hundred pounds of canes ground, and 
the profit on each was 7f cZ. 

The question is, do these profits of the Usine bear an unjust pro- 
portion to those of the planter ? 

Could not the Usine afford to be more liberal ? 

Count xYdhemar, of Guadaloupe, has entered very minutely into 



198 



SUGAK. 



this argument, showing that all the profits are in favour of the factory, 
and the chance of loss for the planter ] but he starts his arguments on 
a false basis, at least as far as would regard Porto Rico, his calcu- 
lations being based on the supposition that a fair yield per acre 
would be 279 cwts. of canes. Such a poor crop of canes would not 
be tolerated here ; we seldom get less than 500 cwts., more frequently 
600 cwts., and very often as much as 800 cwts. per acre, so that what 
the Count makes appear as a loss to the planter would, in our case, be 
a very handsome profit. 

My opinion is, it should be borne in mind that Usines, at the outset, 
were very unprofitable speculations ; all their projectors ruined them- 
selves — an evident sign they were paying the planters too heavy a 
price for their canes in proportion to the power of extraction of their 
machinery, though this machinery was admitted to be far superior to 
that on any sugar estate ; therefore the planter, at 5 per cent., was 
receiving a greater value for his canes than that on the sugar, &c., he, 
with his own machinery, would have extracted from them, and minus 
the expense of manufacture. 

Formerly few estates' mills, driven by steam or water power, ex- 
tracted more than 50 per cent, weight of juice from canes ground : 
windmills and cattle mills seldom or never did this ; and under the 
bad system of defecation and concentration generally practised on 
small estates, one pound of dry sugar per gallon of juice was con- 
sidered the average yield. Under such circumstances, the planter 
who is relieved from the trouble and expense of manufacture, and 
receives for his canes the value of 5 per cent, of dry sugar, — good 
4ths, — drives a profitable business, unless he can have at his disposal 
capital sufficient to erect a good plant. 

Certainly, an old-established factory could afibrd to be more liberal, 
but in a country where central factories were being introduced for the 
first time, where, of course, incidental and unforeseen expenses are liable 
to occur, it would not be prudent for a company to start such an 
establishment on any other basis ; neither would it tend to the advan- 
tage of the cane-planter that it should do so ; for the failure to the 
company would be ruin to the man who might have spent more than 
his all in planting and cultivating his cane-fields, and the percentage 
might Le increased after the second or third year, when there would no 
longer be fear of failure. That some Usines have extracted upwards 
of 8 per cent., there is no doubt*; but that many have not obtained 
6, is also a recognized fact. Moreover, with any percentage of 
extraction, a factory, to pay a good premium on capital employed, 
must be supplied with canes for at least one hundred and twenty 
days' full work. This can scarcely be expected in a new factory, 
established, as probably it would be, in a district not yet fully culti- 
vated. 

There were many causes which tended to the failure of the first 
factories established. The difficulty of transporting the canes to a 
distance, and the loss of time in the factories from their irregular 
supply : it is impossible to work satisfactorily a sugar manufactory, 
where the work is interrupted for want of material, imperfect defeca- 
tion and concentration producing an excess of glucose, causing a 



SUGAR. 



199 



small return of crystallizable sugar and a large quantity of inferior 
molasses. Neither were the mills of sufficient extracting power. 
This may be better appreciated by perusing the following schedule 
of extraction. 

One hundred pounds of canes yielding juice of 10° B. will, at 50 per 
cent, extraction, give, in cane juice, 4*714 gallons. 



Gallons. 

55 per cent, will give 5 * 185 

60 „ „ 5-657 

65 „ „ 6-128 

70 ,. „ 6-600 

75 „ „ 7-071 

80 „ „ 7-543 



When the factories were first established, mills, such as they now 
use, or those used on the larger properties of Cuba and Porto Rico, 
were unknown. The inferior mills employed, and of v/hich I saw 
some dismantled, could extract but a portion of the juice contained in 
the cane, but gradually, as these Usines fell under the sole direction 
of practical men, these evils were remedied. At Pointe Simon a 
powerful mill and engine was introduced, by the side of which the 
first one used was a mere plaything ; the new one extracts from 68 to 
72 per cent, of juice from the cane, whilst the former failed to extract 
60 per cent, and during many days consecutively ; and at intervals I 
saw the average quantity of cane juice extracted per hour was 2680 
gallons. The rollers of this mill are 1 metre 60 centim. long 
(69 inches), by 80 centim. diameter (31J inches), and make 2^ 
revolutions per minute. 

The coppers were discarded, and the " triple effet," as used in 
the beetroot factories, was introduced, and found to work success- 
fully. The vacuum-pan and other machinery was enlarged, and this 
Usine, which at first could scarcely manufacture ten hogsheads of 
sugar a day, now produces twenty-five in ten working hours. Intel- 
ligent men have been employed in each department, and a most 
complete success is the result. 

The projectors of new factories, profiting by experience acquired, 
adopted at once those portions of machinery which had proved most 
effective ; and M. Bougenot, in his Usine at Frangois, has fully de- 
monstrated the advantages of a judicious combination of machinery, 
and a minute attention to results, by the enormous interest he has 
yearly divided among the shareholders of his Usine. No doubt this 
prosperity has served as an incentive to the formation of fresh Usines. 
Some have been more fortunate than others, but all have paid large 
dividends, although none of them have been fully worked, as may be 
seen by the schedule, which shows the work they are capable of 
doing, and what they have done. As their supply of canes increases, 
so no doubt will also their profits. I heard of no instance where 
this had been less than one hundred and thirty-five francs (6Z. 8s. 
sterling). 

La Benty has produced 27 per cent, per annum on estimated 
capital. 



200 



SUGARa 



Pointe Simon has also paid 33^ per cent, per annum, and Frangois 
has varied between 36 and 48 per cent, since it was established. 
These are facts not gathered by hearsay, but from personal inspection 
of the books of these factories, kindly placed at my disposal by the 
gentlemen who direct them ; and I cannot omit this opportunity of 
warmly acknowledging the kindness and attention I received from the 
numerous directors I visited. 

Of course the effects produced to the island generally have been 
very beneficial. Since the establishment of these factories the export 
of sugar has exactly doubled, and being of a superior quality, giving 
no loss by drainage to shippers or purchasers, its proportional market 
value is greater. The shipping towns have profited by this increase 
of commerce, and the vessels have brought prosperity to many with 
them. Merchants who first feared that the central factories becoming 
great depots for sugar would interfere with their business, have found 
it has not been so ; for when by chance they may have lost the con- 
signments of sugar, or the agency of some petty estate, other currents 
of commerce have resulted, which more than indemnified them. 

The following is a report made by the Commissioners appointed to 
inquire into the working of the central sugar factories system in 
Martinique and Guadaloupe, presented to Governor Baynes in 1872. 

We arrived at Basseterre, Guadaloupe, upon the 18th June, and 
proceeded without delay to the town of Point-a-Pitre where the 
largest central factory or Usine, in the French islands, is situated, 
the " Compagnie Sucriere E. Souques et Cie," commonly called 
" L'Usine D'Arboussier." This factory stands in the suburbs of the 
fine seaport of Point-a-Pitre, is constructed upon the grandest scale, 
and is rej)lete with all the improvements in machinery and the 
manufacture of sugar devised by modern science. 

The cost was 216,000?., and the Usine, when a third mill, now 
being put up, is available, will be equal to an out-turn, in the first 
six months of the year, of from 8000 to 10,000 tons of sugar. 

It commenced operations on the 5th April, 1869, but did not get 
regularly to work until the 25th. 

The first season was completed with part of the copper machinery 
not fitted up, and at no time was the Usine supplied with canes to 
keep its mills going. The supply of canes is derived from both 
divisions of Guadaloupe, the volcanic and calcareous. From the 
former they are conveyed in large lighters towed by steam-tugs; 
from the latter by the tramway, several miles in length. The canes 
are carted by the planter to his nearest point on the railway, or shore, 
and thence by the Usine to their destination, where they are weighed 
by a sworn agent, in the presence, if required, of a representative of 
the estate. The planter receives 5J per cent, of the weight of his 
canes of " bonne quatrieme," equal to " No. 12 Dutch standard," the 
price being regulated by the market of Point-a-Pitre at the time 
the canes are delivered. 

The process of sugar manufacture at this Usine is as follows : 

The canes are brought by the planter to a siding of the main 
tramway on his estate. The waggon generally carries 2 tons of 



SUGAR, 



201 



canes, and one mule on a good level ordinary tramway can draw 
easily two waggons. The waggon, when brought to the mill itself, 
conveys the canes to the rollers, the megass being elevated by power 
to a platform over the boilers. The juice on leaving the mill bed 
falls through three strainers into a tank which has a double bottom 
heated by steam. It is treated here with a little bisulphite of lime, 
and is then run into a monte-jus. This monte-jus by steam sends 
the juice up to the clarifiers, where it is heated in the ordinary way 
and tempered with lime properly. From this it is passed to the 
charcoal filters, through which it gravitates, and then passes by a 
gutter into a receiver. From this it is passed to a monte-jus and is 
thrown up by steam into a cistern over the " triple effet," passing from 
the first to the second, and from the second to the third boiler, as 
the attendant wishes. When it leaves the third boiler it is, gene- 
rally speaking, 25° Beaume, and is immediately passed over new re- 
burned charcoal. It gravitates through this and falls into another 
receiver, from which the vacuum pan takes it up and boils it to sugar. 
The first quality sugar is generally crystallized in the pan, and is 
then dropped into sugar boxes which stand 7 feet from the ground ; 
under these boxes a little charging vessel runs on a railway that is 
hung from the bottom of the said boxes, and this vessel conveys the 
sugar over the centrifugals, where it is cured ; the molasses from this 
being boiled up, when found in good condition, with the syrup of the 
following day. When these molasses are thick and clammy they are 
boiled into mass by themselves and dropped into sugar boxes, where 
they are allowed to granulate for a number of days. This makes the 
second quality sugar, and the molasses from this, along with the 
skimmings and subsidings of the clarifiers, go to make rum. The 
juice that leaves the clarifiers does not pass over fresh charcoal, but 
follows the syrup from the " triple effet," this assisting to wash out the 
sweets which may have been left by the syrup. 

The following figures show the weight of canes delivered to the 
factories in the three years commencing with 1869 : 





Year. 


Tons. 


Kilos. 






1869 


17,808 


17,808,217 






1870 


42,808 


42,808,079 






1871 


68,745 


68,745,493 





This year (1872), notwithstanding the severe drought, the receipt 
of canes was upwards of 75,000,000 kilos., or 75,000 tons. 

Thus, in the first three years, the growth of canes upon plantations 
under contract to the Usine had quadrupled, and the management, 
accused at first of having established a factory in a district devoid of 
canes, have been compelled to erect a third large and powerful mill, 
with its accessories, to provide for the reception of the normal quan- 
tity of canes expected, viz. 100,000,000 kilos., or 100,000 tons per 
annum. 



202 



SUGAR. 



This factory pays 5^ per cent, for its canes, and the figures fol- 
lowing give the financial results for the three years ending 1871 : 

Peofits. Loss. 

£ 

1869 4,385 £ 

1870 440 

1871 28,899 



33,284 

Deduct .. .. 400 loss in 1870 



Leaving . . . . £32 , 844 balance to credit. 



A profit of 7000Z. was expected in 1870. Severe losses, owing to 
failures dui'ing the war in France, and other circumstances connected 
with that trying and exceptional year, are assigned as the reason 
for the failui'e of profits to the Usine in 1870. 

In 1870, 6096 "boucauts" of sugar of 500 kilos, each, equal in 
round numbers to 3000 tons, were obtained from the 42,808 tons of 
canes received, or 7*12 per cent, of sugar. 

Three per cent, of syrup was also obtained, which was converted 
into 470,486 litres, equal to 117,620 gallons of rum of an average 
Centigrade strength of 60°, equal to 39^ gallons per ton of sugar. 

In 1871, 10,651 " boucauts " of sugar, or 5325 tons, were obtained 
from the 68,745 tons of canes received, or 7 • 74 per cent., composed 
as follows : 

1st quality sugar 6*24 per cent. 

2nd and 3rd ditto I'oO „ 

A minimum average return of 8 per cent, is confidently expected 
when not less than 25 per cent, of plant canes are regularly for- 
warded from the contributory estates to the factory. 

The superintendent, in a report made to a general meeting of the 
shareholders on the 24th April, 1872, and unanimously adopted, 
remarks that this factory was compelled after its second campaign to 
refuse the offer of fresh contracts, and to increase its working power 
50 per cent., to enable the Usine to keep pace with the rapid increase 
in the production of the estates engaged. 

" But two years ago," says M. Souques, " a lack of canes was 
dreaded ; now an excess of supply is to be feai'ed." 

This Usine, in April, 1872, the thii-d year of its existence, declared 
a first dividend of 24 per cent., exclusive of 4 per cent, carried to the 
credit of the " Sinking Fund Account." The general manufacturing 
and working expenses of the Usine in 1871 amounted to 11 7,73 2Z. 
The sugar realised (3,543,867 francs, or) 141,754/,, the proceeds of 
rum were (306,894 francs, or) 12,275/., equal together to 154,029/., 
showing a profit upon a simple debit and credit account (without 
charging interest upon capital and tear of stock, &c.) of 36,297/. 
upon a manufactiu'e of 68,745 tons of canes and of 731,193 litres, 
or 182,728 gallons, of rum. 

We had not the advantage of seeing this great laboratory at work, 
the operations for the year being ended. 



SUGAR. 



203 



The Commissioners beg respectfully to observe here that the pro- 
cesses of the manufacture of both sugar and rum in all the Usines, 
both in Martinique and Guadaloupe, visited by them are more or less 
identical, the only perceptible difference being the adoption in the 
newer factories of the appliances of modern science and improved 
mechanical and other arrangements. The clarification of the juice, 
its reduction to syrup at a low temperature, the perfect crystallization 
and colour of the sugar, and a maximum return are obtained by 
repeated filtration through animal charcoal, the " triple effet " and 
vacuum-pan processes, and, last of all, the centrifugal machines. A great 
drawback at present to the Usine D'Arboussier is the want of fresh 
water. Salt water is obliged to be used, as also water derived from 
wells decidedly brackish. The injury to the boiler tubes and other 
machinery from using salt water has been so great, that arrangements 
are now being made, at a great cost, to bring fresh water to the Usine 
from the other division of the island. 

We take leave of this " palace factory " with the remark that the 
proprietors of contributory estates, as well as several shareholders 
with whom we had the pleasure of conversing, expressed themselves 
perfectly satisfied with the present condition of affairs, and very con- 
fident as to the permanent success of the Usine. The shares, originally 
issued at 500 francs, are now quoted at 1500 francs, but none are to 
be had. We were informed upon good authority that estates which 
before the establishment of Usines were in debt, or constantly 
changing hands, were now in a flourishing condition, and that others 
which had almost fallen out of cultivation were now making excellent 
crops. 

We had the pleasure and advantage of several interviews with M. 
Souques, whose family possesses a small private Usine, called " Beau- 
port," not far from Point-a-Pitre. We were unable to visit the 
factory, but we were informed by M. Souques (and his statements 
were confirmed by independent testimony) that this Usine purchased 
canes from the neighbouring estates, paying 6 per cent, for them, and 
that upon a manufacture of 2000 tons of sugar per annum the clear- 
ances of the Usine were very handsome. The precise amount was 
not, however, communicated to us, but we observe that Mr. Eussell, a 
gentleman who appears to have visited Guadaloupe from Demerara 
three or four years ago, in some notes of his visit, entitled ' Two Weeks 
in Guadaloupe,' speaking of the Beauport Usine, states : — " The books 
show that they cleared 19,400Z. upon 59,968,871 lbs. purchased 
(1868). These figures show a profit of about 14s. 6d. per ton of canes 
purchased." Mr. Eussell states the quantity of sugar made (in 1868) 
to have been 2600 tons, and 62,700 gallons of rum, or a return of 
about 210 lbs. of sugar and 1^ gallon of rum per ton of canes 
manufactured. The Usine " Cluny " is, we were informed, in 
general respects a similar factory to that of Beauport, and canes 
are brought by water in punts from a distance of 20 miles, and 
afterwards conveyed some miles farther by tramway to the Usine. 
The island of Guadaloupe is divided into two parts by a narrow 
channel, called the Kiviere Salee, running north and south. The 
western portion (Guadaloupe proper) is of volcanic origin : it is 



204 



SUGAR. 



mountainous, well wooded, and abundantly supplied with water ; its 
soil, resulting from tlie disintegration of conglomerate, is generally 
of a stiff argillaceous nature. 

Notes on Usines, and the Manufacture of Sugar as carried 
ON AT Martinique. 

1. Contract hetween Planter and Mill-owner. — The engagements 
between the Usines and the cane-growers are generally for periods of 
ten years. 

2. Proportion of Sugar allowed in Exchange or Payment for Canes. — 
When first established, the Usines only allowed the planters 5 per 
cent, of sugar per 100 lbs. of canes, but some of those lately estab- 
lished give as high as 6 per cent. 

3. Mode of Paijing the Cane-growers. — Sugar is never actually 
given by the Usine to the cane-grower, but the value of so much per 
cent, per 100 lbs. of canes : this value is fixed in the following 
manner : — Every fortnight the average between the highest and lowest 
prices quoted at St. Pierre for muscovado is taken, and such average 
price fixes the value of the percentage allowed by the Usine to the 
cane-grower ; thus — A. sends 500,000 lbs. of canes to the Usine from 
the 1st to the 15th March ; the Usine allows 5.jper cent. = 27,500 lbs. 
of sugar for the 500,000 lbs. of canes. The average price of musco- 
vado sugar at St. Pierre is, during the same period, say, $3 per 100 
lbs. ; 27,500 lbs. sugar at $3 per 100 lbs. = $825. To this amount, 
therefore, A. will be entitled for his 500,000 lbs. of canes. The 
cane-grower is thus excluded from participation in the advantages of 
the manufacture of the superior quality of sugar made by the Usine, 
except to a moderate extent at those Usines where, after a certain per- 
centage of the profits has been reserved for the shareholders and for 
a reserved fimd, the balance is divided between the cultivators of the 
canes and the proprietors of the Usine. 

4. The Carts go hy Usine Tramway from Estate to Usine : hut carted 
from Cane-piece to Tramway. — The Usine is fed by means of tramways 
which are laid down with regard to the configuration of the ground, 
rather than directly, to save cartage to the cane-growers, who generally, 
if possible, suit their cultivation to the direction of the tramways. 
On Les Digues estate the canes for a crop of 300 barriques ( = about 
150 42-inch hhds.) used to be carted by about forty-five oxen, to a small 
mill of about 5 horse-power, driven by water : now, by sixty oxen, they 
cart canes to the tramway sufficient to make 500 to 600 barriques ; 
that is to say, with one-third more oxen, they are able to cart canes 
sufficient to make about double as much as formerly. The railway 
passes near the centre of the estate ; the cane-pieces farthest from it 
are barely a mile off. On some estates, however, I am informed, the 
cartage is from 2 to 3 miles. 

5. Varying Price, and Participation in Profits. — Where the Usine 
gives the .value of 6 per cent, per 100 lbs. of canes (to the cultivators) 
there is n© participation, on the part of the cultivators, in the profits 
of the Usine ; but at the neighbouring Usine of Petit Bowg, where 
the canes of Les Digues estate are manufactui'ed into sugar, the cane- 



SUGAR. 



205 



growers, I was informed, received the value of 5^ per cent, (of manu- 
factured sugar per 100 lbs. of canes), and after 11 per cent, interest 
had been handed over to the shareholders, the remainder of the profits 
was divided between the shareholders and the cane-growers. The 
arrangements between the Usine and the cane-growers are, in almost 
every instance, different ; and, as far as I have been able to learn, 
those that have been lately established give more liberal terms to the 
cane-growers than those of some years' standing. 

6, Some Canes sea-home to Usine.— Some of the Usines on the sea- 
board bring the canes by water, when steamers are employed to tow 
iron barges in which the canes are transported, sometimes from 6 to 
8 miles. 

7. The Petit-Bourg Usine. — The canes are ground in a mill of 40 
horse-power, made by Cail and Co., of Paris. The rollers are much 
thicker, in proportion to their length, than the general run of mills 
manufactured in England and Scotland. Although of 40 horse- 
power, the mill at the Petit-Bourg Usine has rollers only 5 feet in 
length. This mill extracts about 72 per cent, from plant canes, and 
from 60 to 70 from ratoons. The steam is supplied, both for the 
machinery and boiling, by five multitubular boilers of the shape of 
locomotive boilers. Were coal only used, these boilers would be 
equal to 100 horse-power each, but as the megass is consumed in the 
boiler furnaces immediately on its issuing from the mill by the aid of 
2 tons of coal per diem for each boiler, their efficiency as generators 
of steam is diminished about one-half ; that is to say, the five boilers 
barely supply 300 horse-power. The amount of sugar manufactured 
is about 15 tons per day of fifteen hours ; and the waste of animal char- 
coal about 15 tons per annum. Sixteen centrifugals are used, driven 
by two 12 -horse engines. This Usine, which is not on a large scale, 
is fed by means of about 6 miles of railway : the rails weigh about 
25 lbs. to the yard ; the gauge is about 4 feet. Sixty cane-waggons are 
employed, measuring 11 x 8 x2|- feet, each capable of carrying about 
6500 lbs. of canes, and each drawn by one mule, of which there are 
twenty-five attached to the Usine, all small animals. The average 
cost of the tramway, per mile, in an undulating country, is about 
$7000 per mile; on level land, the expense hardly exceeds $5000 
per mile. There are three lines of rail laid down before the mill, 
to facilitate the discharge of the waggons. The cane-waggons 
on the tramroad are loaded by the cane-growers, but they have 
nothing to do with the expense of traction on the tramway, or the 
cost of laying it down and repairing it. From the mill, the megass 
is carried by a web to a platform about 16 feet above the ground; this 
platform is about 40 feet square, close-boarded to a height of about 
6 feet, except where the web discharges the megass at the end of the 
platform opposite the discharging web, on five shoots leading direct 
to the furnace mouths of the boilers, at an angle of about 50°. The 
megass is put into the furnace by the stoker, with sufficient coal 
to enable it to burn freely. The boilers contain from 120 to 130 
tubes, 3 inches in diameter inside, and about 18 feet long. The grating 
surface is about 4^ by 6 feet. The chimney is 70 feet high by 3 feet 
in diameter, and of sheet iron. Each boiler has a separate chimney. 



206 



SUGAR. 



The sides of tlie boilers are not coated with any non-conductor, as it 
has been found that the damage caused to the boiler by the contact 
of any insulator and any leakage that may take place, is not com- 
pensated for by the heat saved which would otherwise be lost by 
radiation. 

8. The Usine always more advantageous to the Cane-grower than an 
Estate Mill. — Some planters are of opinion that if they had mills of 
from 25 to 30 horse-power, it would pay them better to manufacture 
their own sugar, than to send their canes to the Usine. I am inclined 
to think, however, that if the data they have given me are correct, the 
Usine, under any circumstances, pays them better. I conceive that 
the profits of the Usines are generally much greater in proportion 
than the profits of the cane-growers who supply them. The Usine 
should be established by planters, they being the shareholders. So 
great are the profits of the Usine, that almost every year a new one 
is started in Martinique, and not the slightest difficulty is experienced 
in raising the necessary funds. 

9. Cost of establishing an Usine. — The plant of an Usine capable of 
making, say 2000 tons of sugar, costs, including about 8 miles of 
railway and ^4000 for ten acres of land, about ^240,000. The largest 
Usine at Martinique was established by Baron de La Renty ; it is 
called the Usine de La Benty, and is capable of making 3750 tons. 
The plant cost ^500,000. 

10. Salary of the Manager. — The gerant, or administrator (manager ?), 
of the Usine gets, in addition to a salary of from K3000 to K4000, 
a percentage which often brings him more than his fixed salary. One 
of the most successful, and probably the most economical adminis- 
trators in Martinique is M. E. Bougenot, of the Usine Frangois. Such 
a man might probably be induced for ^5000 or K6000 to order the 
machinery for, and superintend during the wet season (when the 
Usines at Martinique are not at work) the erection of an Usine in 
Trinidad. I consider that even K 10,000 dollars would be well laid 
out in securing the services of one who has practically worked and 
established Usines at Martinique. 

11. Profits of Usines in Martinique. — One of the Usines pays the 
shareholders from 40 to 48 per cent, per annum on the capital in- 
vested. I am informed that the average profit of Usines is from 25 
to 30 per cent, per annum. 

12. Number of Hands employed. — An Usine of 2000 tons employs 
on an average 150 hands. 

13. Distillation of Bum.— -Besides the apparatus for manufacturing 
the sugar, there is attached to every Usine a distillery where the 
refuse is utilised for the manufacture of rum. I was unable to ascer- 
tain what were the profits of the distillery as compared with those of 
the manufacture of sugar, but was assured they formed a material 
item in the general return to the shareholders. 

In Guadaloupe there were in 1874, 20,686 hectares of land under 
culture with sugar-cane. The number of sugar works was 495, of 
which 59 had mills worked by steam, 80 by water-power, and 80 wind- 
mills, and 1 by cattle; 264 plantations without works are served 
either by the eleven central steam Usines, or other mills conveniently 



SUGAR. 



207 



situated. The number of labourers employed was 44,856. 
produce made was : 



The 



Year. 



1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 



Sugar. 



kilos. 
30,328,452 
27,475,290 
28,013,900 
35,731,600 
35,831,394 
40,202,550 
40,634,550 
39,993,950 
34,582,585 
40,775,732 



litres. 
4,311,972 
3,385,190 
3,168,304 
3,555,199 
3,355,670 
3,665,295 
3,332,595 
12,139,441 
2,583,381 
3,400,438 



Rum. 



litres. 
1,819,312 
1,985,483 
2,269,500 
4,060,001 
2,569,703 
3,665,295 
1,817,288 
1,314,048 
1,367,580 
1,849,385 



>S^^. Croix. — The aid of steam in breaking up the heavy soil of this 
island is much desired, but the total failure of a steam-traction plough, 
introduced in 1862, has hitherto discouraged the planters from again 
risking so heavy an outlay. 

The exports in 1870 were 22,968,214 lbs. of sugar, 437,058 gallons 
of rum, and 730,677 gallons of molasses; in 1871 the quantity of 
sugar exported was 25,223,547 lbs. 

In 1873 the exports were 9,852,803 lbs. of sugar, 144,041 gallons 
of rum, and 354,442 gallons of molasses. 

Colonel Stewart's process for improving the quality of sugar has 
been introduced, and resulted in making a superior article, where 
proper chemical knowledge has regulated the proportions of lime 
and sulphur required in the manufacture, having also due regard to 
the character of the water, which is often mixed with mineral 
deposits, as it is raised from a great depth and frequently through a 
lime or marl substratum. 

Porto Bico. — The production of sugar during 1870 was very re- 
markable, certainly not less than 125,000 tons, and it is expected to 
be progressive. The value of the sugar exported, 101,298 tons at 
K5 per cwt., was 2,025,966Z. ; of the molasses, 5,206,655 gallons at 
20 cents the gallon, 291,202Z. ; the small quantity of rum at ^25 the 
puncheon, 146Z.; making a total of 2,317,314Z., for the produce shipped 
of the sugar-cane alone, besides 640,000Z. for other agricultural pro- 
ducts. The estates here are well mounted with first-class machinery for 
sugar making and distilling ; ploughs and agricultural implements are 
in general use. Colonel Stewart, an American officer, has introduced 
into the island his system of purifying sugar by the fumes of 
sulphur, which is simple and inexpensive, and has long been in use in 
the United States. 

Sugar and molasses exported from Porto Eico : 





Year. 


Sugar. 


Molasses. 






1857 


80,982,188 lbs. 


2,707,740 galls. 






1858 


121,319,374 „ 


3,730,511 „ 






1859 


91,732,084 „ 


3,089,652 „ 






1860 


127,244,749 „ 


4,231,772 „ 






1861 


145,995,816 „ 


4,616,180 „ 





208 




SUGAR. 






Year. 


Sugar. 


Molasses. 






1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 


150,584,628 lbs. 
146,467,263 „ 
110,425,022 „ 
157,332,185 „ 
64,017 tons 
68,229 „ 
73,929 „ 
81,372 „ 
101,298 „ 
108,133 „ 
94,262 „ 
101,195 „ 


4,987,252 galls. 
4,972,645 „ 
3,732,076 „ 
5,554,037 „ 
5,206,655 „ 
5,063,094 „ 
5,660,316 „ 
5,969,020 „ 
/ , zyo , uii 
7,590,915 „ 
6,087,550 „ 
6,082,539 „ 





The finest qualities of sugar are produced in the divisions of St. 
Juan, Mayaguez, and Ponce, and the muscovado sugars in Vieques, 
Naguabo, and Arroyo. The Americans take the greater portion of the 
former. 32,282 gallons of rum were shipped in 1873. 

Cuba. — This island has always been a large sugar-producing colony, 
and has steadily maintained its progressive increase and the quality 
of the sugar produced, notwithstanding many adverse circumstances. 
The sugar crop and export last for about four, or at most six -months, 
of each year. 

Two facts strike the spectator who is accustomed to the culture and 
manufacture in the British West Indies, namely : 

1. The inferiority of the culture of the cane in Cuba compared to 
that in Demerara, Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, &c., and the small- 
ness and poor quality of the different species of canes in the Cuban 
fields. 

2. The vast superiority in Cuba of the manipulation of the cane 
juice, and the excellence and high quality of the sugar produced. 

There are about 1400 sugar estates in the island. The value of the 
sugar exported ranges from 12,000,000Z, to 13,500,000Z. sterling. 

In 1855 the exports from Cuba were 1,905,580 boxes of sugar, 
256,100 casks (of 30 gallons) of molasses, and 31,214 pipes of rum. 

In 1840 the sugar crop was 143,600 tons, in 1853 267,850 tons ; 
since 1863 the crops have been as follows : 





Year. 


Sugar. 


Molasses. 








tons. 


tons. 






1863 


506,000 


170,500 






1864 


575,000 


170,900 
185,500 






1865 


620,000 






1866 


545,636 


208,800 






1867 


565,529 


193,500 






1868 


710,609 


259,000 






1869 


664,155 


247,100 






1870 


684,032 
527,000 


213,400 






1871 


152,500 






1872 


667,850 


200,000 






1873 


600,000 


240,000 





SUGAR. 



209 



Beetroot sugar is now the fear and dread of all tropical countries 
producing sugar-cane, and if the Americans can ever, cultivate the 
beet in large quantities in the States, Cuba will, notwithstanding her 
large labour population, 350,000 negroes and 100,000 Chinese, greatly 
suffer from this cause in her exports, for the United States still take 
70 to 80 per cent, of her sugar produce. 

In 1863, 40 per cent, of the sugar and 77 per cent, of the molasses 
went to America ; 34 per cent, of- the sugar to England. In 1873, 
64 per cent, of the sugar and 91 per cent, of the molasses went to 
America, and 25 per cent, of the sugar to England. 

The following semi-official statement of the yield of the cane for 
ten years, computed in tons, is given in the annual report for 1873 of 
the British Consul-General, Mr. Dunlop : 



Year. 



1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 



Sugar, 



515,090 
619,780 
612,180 
697,146 
749,389 
726,237 
725,505 
547,179 
708,234 
796,179 



Molasses. 



203,450 
218,075 
241,150 
226,200 
286,151 
279,570 
245,870 
184,965 
235,441 
242,308 



Total. 



718,540 
837,885 
853,330 
823,346 
,035,550 
,005,787 
974,375 
732,144 
943,675 
,308,487 



Synopsis of exports : 



Year, 



1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 



Boxes. 



1,134,620 
1,336,559 
1,307,676 
1,355,154 

817,675 
1,145,351 

959,736 



Hogsheads. 



287,246 
502,231 
431,719 
502,153 
376,901 
484,021 
557,378 



Reducing this into tons, it shows as follows : 



Year. 


Sugar. 


Molasses. 




tons. 


tons. 


1869 


639,406 


247,050 


1870 


659,886 


213,388 


1871 


470,941 


152,459 


1872 


630,862 


201,995 


1373 


714,960 


189,333 



The local consumption of sugar is stated to be about 220,000 tons, 
but comparing the production with the exports, it would seem to be 
about double that amount. 



210 



SUGAR. 



The quality of tlie sugar exported frora Cuba is excellent, and is 
superior to most of the sugar produced elsewhere, from the scientific 
way in which it is manufactured from the cane juice. The sugar 
works on most Cuban estates are as good as any of the large German 
beetroot sugar factories, where the newest and best appliances are 
ever in use. 

The sugar crop of 1870-71 was about 25 per cent, short of the 
average of the previous four years. This arose from the disturbed state 
of some portions of the island, where the insurgents continued to 
burn sugar estates, and also in a slight degree from the effect of two 
severe hurricanes which swept over the centre of Cuba with great 
violence in Oct. 1870 ; but as the price of sugar kept high, the value 
of the crop amounted to nearly 12,000, OOOZ. sterling. 

Sugar is exported from Cuba chiefly in boxes or cases, of which 
about 3t are equivalent to one hogshead. The hogshead generally 
weighs net about 1500 lbs. English. They are smaller than the 
Jamaica hogshead. 

The exports in 1873 were distributed as follows, in tons : 





Sugar. 


Molasses. 




tons. 


tons. 




231,196 


3,593 




479,378 


177,519 




4,391 


8,221 


Total 


714,960 


189,333 



The molasses produced in Cuba is not large, as will be seen by the 
appended statement, and much of it is now re-worked for sugar; 
a very small quantity of rum is exported, in casks of from 110 to 120 
gallons. Exports of molasses from Cuba : 



Tear. 


Hogsheads. 


Tons. 


1862 


177,894 


115,631 


1863 


180,367 


117,239 


1864 


172,954 


112,420 


1865 


184,483 


119,824 


1866 


213,167 


138,558 


1867 


192,528 


125,143 


1868 


262-, 882 


170,873 


1869 


258,669 


168,134 


1870 


225,861 


146,809 


1871 


154,356 


100,331 


1872' 




201,995 


1873 




189,333 



Average of ten years, from 1862 to 1871, 202,316 hhds., or 131,496 tons. 



SUGAR. 



211 



MAPLE SUGAR. 

The sugar maple (Acer saccharinum) flourishes throughout most of 
North America. Its height is often upwards of one hundred feet. 
It is a highly ornamental tree, loves a cold climate, and makes ex- 
cellent fuel. In the production of sugar an orchard of maple trees 
is equal to a field of sugar-cane of the same area. An open winter, 
constantly freezing and thawing, is the forerunner of a bountiful crop 
of sugar. 

In the older States of the Union the great demand for timber and 
fuel and the increased cutting tend yearly to lessen the amount 
of sugar produced. In the more recently settled States of the north- 
west, maple sugar is on the increase. 

The maj^le sugar crop of the year 1855 was officially estimated at 
"Washington at about 550,000Z. Maple sugar being a product of the 
forest, is chiefly confined to those regions of the interior where it is 
a cheap and ready substitute for the more costly product of the cane. 
The sugar-cane can only be raised in the extreme southern latitudes 
of the United States, whereas the sugar maple flom'ishes in the 
greater part of the inhabited sections, and though the sugar produced 
from it is inferior to that of the cane, yet, as it requires but little 
care, it is much cheaper. 

In 1850 the production in the States was officially given at 15,520 
tons, in 1855 at 14,500 tons, in 1858 at 24,000 tons, in 1860 and 
1861 at an average of 27,000 tons, and in 1872 it was only 16,000 tons. 

Maple sugar as an article of merchandise seems, however, in a fair 
way of extinction. The maple forests of New jEngiand are being 
yearly cut down and converted into broom handles. Thousands of 
splendid trees are annually felled. At the present rate of destruction, 
maple sugar will before long be unknown in the trade. The whole 
amount of maple sugar reported in the States was, according to the 
latest official agricultural statistics, about forty million pounds annu- 
ally, but this was considered to be one-third below the actual quantity 
made. According to the last census returns, Vermont reported a yield 
of almost ten million pounds. The production of New York is some- 
what larger, but nothing compared with the difference in area. The 
only other States which return more than one million pounds are 
Michigan four million, Ohio thi'ee and a quarter million, Pennsyl- 
vania nearly three million. New Hampshire two and a quarter million, 
Indiana one and a half million, Massachusetts a few pounds more than 
a million. The total production of maple molasses is one and a half 
million gallons, of which Ohio retui'ns nearly four hundred thousand 
gallons, Indiana nearly three hundred thousand, Kentucky one 
hundred and forty thousand, and Vermont only sixteen thousand 
gallons. In addition to the large production of maple sugar in the 
States, the estimated quantity manufactured by the Indians living 
east of the Mississippi is ten million pounds per annum, and the 
quantity manufactured by those living west of the river is set down 
at twenty million pounds, but is probably much greater. Of the 
American States, Vermont makes by far the largest quantity in pro- 

p 2 



212 



SUGAB. 



portion to its territory, and in some of tlie northern districts of this 
State the use of cane sugar is almost unknown. Many improvements 
have been made in the manufacture of maple sugar during the last 
few years ; formerly the highest attainments in this manufacture only 
resulted in the production of a fine muscovado-like sugar ; but now, 
by improved processes, specimens are annually exhibited at the various 
agricultural fairs, vying with the most beautiful loaf sugar. This has 
been effected by greater attention to cleanliness in the preparation of 
the sap, and the improvements in the graining and refining the sugar. 
A few years ago a premium was awarded by the Oswego County 
Agricultural Society, New York, to Mr. E. Tinker, for the following 
improved method of preparing maple sugar. The sap is boiled in a 
potash caldron kettle to a thick syrup ; strain it when warm, let it 
stand twenty-four hours to settle, then pour it off. leaving back all 
that is impure. To clarify fifty pounds take one quart of milk, one 
ounce of saleratus, and the whites of two eggs, well mixed ; boil the 
sugar again until it is hard enough to lay upon a saucer, then let it 
stand in the kettle and cool. Stii' it a very little to prevent it caking 
in the kettle. For draining use a tube, funnel shaped, fifteen inches 
square at the top, and coming to a point at the bottom. Put in the 
sugar when cold, tap at the bottom, and keep a damp flannel cloth of 
two or three thicknesses on the top of the mass. When drained dis^ 
solve the sugar in pure warm water, and clarify and drain as before. 

It is about the close of April that the collection of the sap is made. 
Eeaumur's thermometer rises about midday to 50°, and falls each 
night to zero, or below. In Canada an incision or a hole is cut in the 
trunk a few feet from the ground ; in the United States the large 
branches are also punctured ; a recipient is placed to catch the sap. 
To save transport and to accelerate and simplify the manufacture, a 
rough shed is run up in the woods and a large boiler is suspended 
over a brisk fire. The sap is thrown into it and stirred with a 
wooden spade. When it boils, it thickens, changes its white colour 
into a golden yellow, and is poured out into wooden moulds, in which 
it solidities on cooling ; sometimes it is tui'ned out into earthen pots, 
which bleaches it, but the quality is sacrificed to colour. In the work 
of Michaux on ' The Forest Trees of North America,' some interesting 
details will be found of the process as carried on in the States. They 
commence there, tapping the trees in February and March ; a cold 
and dry winter is much more productive of sap than a humid and 
variable one ; and a fine sunny day after a fi'osty night causes the sap 
to flow more abundantly, and a tree will occasionally yield two or 
three gallons. Michaux states that three persons can attend to 250 
trees, which would yield 1000 lbs. of sugar, or about 4 lbs. per tree. 
The period during which the sap flows from the trees is about six 
weeks, at a time when there is little to be done in farming or other 
operations. In the State of New York there were in 1860 about 
ten million acres planted with the sugar maple, in the proportion of 
about thirty trees to the acre. The maple sugar product of Canada was 
stated in 1849 at 2,303,000 lbs. for the Lower Province, and 
4,161,000 lbs. for Upper Canada. The census of 1851 gave the total 
at 10,000,000 lbs., exclusive of what was used locally without being 
brought to market. 



SUGAB. 



213 



PALM SUGAR. 

In Britisli India and several parts of the Eastern Archipelago sugar 
is made from the sap of some of the palms, such as the wild date 
palm (Phoenix sylvestris), the Palmyra palm (Bdrassusflahelllformis), the 
cocoanut palm (^Cocos nucifera), the Gomuti palm (Saguerus [Arenga] 
saccharifera), the Nipah palm {Nrpa fruticans), and the Kittool palm 
(Cdnjota urens). About 50,000 tons of palm sugar are produced in 
Bengal alone, and a good deal in Siam ; probably 150,000 tons is 
below the mark for the entire produce. I have preferred to treat of 
this manufacture under the head of " The Useful Palms," to which 
section the reader is referred for full details. 

BEETEOOT SUGAR. 

Of all the plants experimentally tried for sugar the beet proved the 
most promising, but forty years elapsed before the manufacture of 
beet sugar was enabled to cope successfully with colonial sugars. 
From France, the culture spread thi'ough Belgium, Germany, and 
far into the interior of Russia, and now there is produced on the 
continent of Europe 1,200,000 tons, of which about one-fourth is 
manufactured in France. 

The progress in the different countries is shown by the following 
statistics of factories and production : 



Country. 


Nutuber 
of Manufac- 
tories. 


Beet consumed in 
Cwts. 


Sugar Production 
in Cwts. 


Average 
Production of 
each Mill. 


Germany 


434 
266 
300 
212 
106 
18 
6 


82,850,000 
51,495,494 
42,400,000 
42,300,000 
14,200,000 
2,143,000 
770,000 


5,800,000 
4,319,640 
3,792,000 
3,400,000 
1,000,000 
150,000 
61,600 


190,915 
172,619 
141,334 
199,530 
131,482 
119,060 
192,500 


Total .. 


1,372 


236,158,404 


18,523,240 


173,380 



Year. 


France. 


Zollverein. 


Bel^um. 


Factories. 


Tons. 


Factories. 


Tons. 


Factories. 


Tons. 


1850 
1860 
1870 
1875 


390 
341 
458 
500 


67,000 
108,000 
285,000 
500,000 


184 
247 
284 
300 


45,000 
145,000 
215,000 
346,000 


281 
65 
131 
200 


5,800 
17,000 
48,000 
80,000 


Year. 


Austria. 


Eussia and Poland. 


Holland, Sweden, and Italy. 


Factories. 


Tons. 


Factories. 


Tons. 


Factories. 


Tons. 


1860 
1870 
1875 


140 
181 
236 


76,000 
152,000 
154,000 


300 


87,000 
132,500 
245,000 


20 
25 


16,000 
30,000 



214 



SUGAR. 



The manufacture has been unsuccessfully attempted in England 
and Ireland. In New Jersey, California, Canada, and parts of 
Australia attempts have also been made to grow the beet for sugar 
production. Owing to the smaller quantity of saccharine in beet- 
roots than in sugar-cane, and owing also to the more intricate and 
complex combinations in which that saccharine matter is found in 
the root than in the cane, greater ingenuity and a more careful appli- 
cation of scientific processes are needed in the one than in the 
other. 

A beetroot sugar manufacturer must not only be supplied with a 
large capital, as the " plant " required for his industry is both heavy 
and expensive, but his mind must be stored with an amount of 
scientific and practical knowledge of no ordinary character. He must 
be a thorough, practical agriculturist ; as the cultivation of the root, 
to be successfully carried out, must enter into a well-organized 
rotation of crops, and take its rank in that rotation according to local 
conditions of climate and soil, which it requires a thorough, practical 
mind to determine. He must also be a good chemist; not only to 
ascertain the capabilities of the soil on which he oj)erates, and 
determine the special manures necessary — for the saccharine quality of 
the roots wholly depends on the food on w^hich they grow — but he 
must also be able to conduct the nice chemical processes essential to 
extract sugar from the root, and meet many accidental contingencies 
with which these processes are beset at every stage of their progress. 
He must also be familiar with the arts of the engineer and mechanic, 
so as to be able to plan and carry out all the imi^rovements which 
are daily suggested by enlarged experience and practice, in order to 
meet, by simpler and less expensive mechanical means, the increased 
salaries of labourers, the fresh taxes laid on sugar, and the large 
competition of home and foreign antagonists and rivals. He must 
also be a prudent and active commercial man, carefully watching the 
state of the market, both in the purchase of raw materials, and the 
disposal of his produce. 

In 1700 there was not consumed in France 1,000,000 kilogrammes 
of sugar. In 1861 the consumption had reached 120,000,000, and in 
1874 it was 258,000,000. It would supersede and annihilate the 
consumption of colonial sugar if it were not taxed by the Govern- 
ment. Free from duty it could be sold with profit to the manu- 
facturer at 2d. the pound. 

" The art of extracting sugar from beetroots," remarks Walkhofi*, 
" is a northern, and especially a German discovery. It was not the 
result of a blind chance, for its extraction required a manipulation 
far more complex than the treatment of the sugar-cane. Whilst the 
Indian reed, ripening under a tropical climate, aided by a powerful 
and energetic growth, offered, so to speak, of its own accord, and 
without expense to man, a sweet juice almost pure, it required, to 
extract the same substance from beetroots, the slower but steadier 
combination of reflection, sustained thought, and labour of the man 
of the north, struggling against a less favoured climate." 

From an article in the London paper called ' Engineering,' I take 
the following statistical facts : 



SUGAR. 



215 



An acre planted with sugar-cane in the West Indies will produce 
about 20 tons of cane on an average. This cane contains about 90 
per cent, of juice, and the percentage of saccharine matter in the 
sugar-cane juice varies from 18 to 22 per cent. Taking an average 
percentage of sugar in the cane as 18 per cent., the weight of sugar 
grown upon an acre in the West Indies is 72 cwts. The average of 
modern beetroot cultivation in Eui'ope may be taken as 20 tons of 
beetroot per acre ; and the percentage of sugar in a favourable season 
at 10 per cent. An acre of beetroot in Europe therefore raises 40 cwts. 
of sugar, and that sugar is diluted to a much higher degree with 
water, and contaminated with impurities of all kinds, which render 
it much more difficult and costly to extract and crystallize than the 
cane sugar. Modern improvements in agriculture have gradually 
raised the yield of beetroot crops, and may do so still further, but 
in a similar degree is the agriculture of sugar plantations capable 
of further important improvements, and the yield of cane capable of 
being considerably increased. So far as the production of sugar is 
concerned, the advantage is so greatly and obviously on the side of 
the sugar-cane, that the decision against beetroot cultivation is arrived 
at as an a p'iori judgment, which has hitherto been held with con- 
siderable tenacity by the majority of the agriculturists and practical 
men in this country. The actual success and rapid growth of beet- 
root industry on the Continent has for a long time been ascribed to 
accidental causes, and it is only at a very recent date that other 
opinions have gained ground amongst a small number of scientific and 
practical men. The element of success which has been so frequently 
overlooked, and which still is i)Owerful enough to tui'n the scale in 
the competition between sugar-cane and beetroot in the open market 
of the world, is the refuse material from the beetroot plants. The 
extracted sugar-cane is a mass of woody fibre saturated more or less 
with juice, according to the greater or less degree of imperfection in 
the process of extraction. The proper application of this sugar-cane 
trash or bagasse, would be for manuring the cane fields, but the actual 
use which is made of it in the colonies is for fuel, and in many 
localities it forms the only fuel available for the diflerent purposes of 
raising the steam and evaporating the juice. In either of the above 
applications the value which this cane trash represents over and above 
the value of the sugar itself is practically nil. The case is difierent, 
however, with regard to beetroot. The material of the root is of 
a complex character, and the solid residue of the extraction of the 
juice is the well-known beetroot pulp, a material of great value for 
cattle feeding. The weight of the pulp is about 18 per cent, of that 
of the beet ; the yield of pulp from an acre of land is therefore 
about 72 cwts. 

" The total produce of an acre of beet may therefore be considered 
equivalent to two distinct crops, say a crop of sugar-cane from some- 
what more than half an acre of a West Indian plantation, and a crop 
of mangel- wiu'z el from somewhat less than half an acre of European 
farm land growing mangel. It is obvious that the cultivation of beet 
must i^ay therefore in a similar ratio as the two branches of agri- 
culture are remunerative in their respective districts ; but this is not 



216 



SUGAR. 



all. The raw sugar once obtained from the soil is of a higher value 
in Europe than in the cane-growing colonies. The sugar requires 
extracting, boiling down, and refining, and for all these opei-ations the 
cheap coal, abundant supply of intelligent labour, modern machinery, 
and cheap capital give a marked and decisive advantage to European 
industry, as compared with that of the colonies. The money value of 
a ton of green sugar held in the cells of beetroot is, when delivered 
at sugar works in Europe, considerably higher than the value of a 
ton of gi'een sugar contained in the cane delivered in the factory of 
a West Indian sugar manufacturer. These are some of the principal 
elements which enable beetroot cultivation in Europe, within certain 
limits, to compete with advantage against the sugar manufacture of 
colonial cane plantations. In reviewing the different advantages and 
disadvantages of beetroot cultivation, as compared with cane culti- 
vation, we have purposely avoided raising the question of yield from 
a given weight of the plant. In this respect the present methods of 
cane extraction are sadly behind those applied to the beetroot. The 
best sugar mills at present hardly reach as high a yield as 70 per 
cent, of juice on the weight of the cane, leaving fully 20 per cent, of 
juice in the cane trash. This represents an extraction of 77 per cent, 
of the sugar actually contained in the cane. From beetroot the 
hydraulic press extracts about 94 per cent, of the saccharine matter 
contained in the beet, and M. Robert's beautiful process of diffusion 
comes nearer to perfection. 

" It is probable, however, that before long the diffusion process will 
find its way into the cane-growing colonies in a more extensive 
manner than has been hitherto the case, and will remove the disadvan- 
tages of insufficient yield. The competition between sugar-cane and 
beetroot will then be upon a more advantageous basis, so far as cane 
is concerned, but it will still leave a wide field open to the competition 
of beetroot in Europe." 

The Production of beet sugar in France in kilogrammes, according 
to the official returns, has been as follows : 

Kilos. Kilos. 

1840 26,939,857 1865 209,648,000 

1855 67,709,000 1870 277,731,000 

1860 108,782,000 1874 431,913,000 

In 1871, only 79,666 tons were exported; in 1874, 185,124 tons. 
According to the French official returns, in 1875 the importations 



of sugar into France were : 

KUos. 

Kaw sugar from the French colonies 66,002,000 

Eaw sugar from foreign countries 115,794,748 

White sugar from French colonies 37,077,331 

„ „ foreign countries 702,157 

The general exports of refined sugars from France were in 

Kilos. 

1873 153,643,032 

1874 185,643,032 

1875 215,671,403 



SUGAR. 



The shipments to England were returned at, for 



Kilos. 

1873 54,818,208 

1874 70,413,070 



Kilos. 

1875 90,489,660 

1876 99,111.936 



In 1852 the yield of beetroot was 32,000,000 cwts.; in 1862, 
44,000,000 cwts.; in 1872 it was 118,183,758 cwts., valued at 
2 fr. 15 c.the cwt., making a total value for the raw material of about 
10,150, OOOZ. The duty paid on beet sugar in France was, in 

Francs. 

1860 37,606,000 

1870 54,953,000 

1874 105,437,000 



Progress of sugar Consumption in France, distinguishing the foreign 
or cane sugar from the home production of beet : 





Year. 


Cane Sugar. 


Beet. 






1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 


kilos. 
95,805,210 
79,688,738 
90,678,552 
95,208,542 
77,113,591 


kilos. 
192,411,885 
145,707,349 
166,062,460 
176,193,577 
257,943,198 






Total 


438,494,633 


938,313,469 






Average 


87,298,925 


187,663,693 





In the Zollverein the progress of beetroot sugar manufacture is 
shown by the following figures. In 1863 there were but 253 sugar 
works ; in 1873, 328 ; and the quantity of roots delivered to the 
manufacturers has risen in the same period from 19,955,760 cwts. 
to 31,815,590 cwts. About 12J- cwts. of roots are required to make 
1 cwt. of raw sugar. 



GLUCOSE, OR STARCH SUGAR. 

There is another description of sugar now manufactured largely, 
which has to be taken into consideration by the sugar planters, as it 
is used a good deal in brewing, by confectioners and others, and that 
is glucose or sugar made from potato and other starch. The quantity 
of starch used in Germany in 1873 for this purpose amounted to 
885,000 cwts., of which 561,000 was liquid starch, and the rest dry. 
There were fifty works, and those made the following quantities of 
sugar : 

Cwts. 

1. Solid glucose 202,610 

2. Molasses or syrup 295,658 

3. Coloured starch 28,995 



Total 



527,263 



218 



SUGAE. 



The price for the solid sugars was 24 fr. 12 c, for molasses 
22 fr. 62 c, for the coloured sugars 26 fr. 25 c. 

In the United States a large quantity of glucose is made from 
maize. Those who are interested in the chemical manufactui-e of 
this product will find full details given in my ' Journal of Applied 
Science,' vol. i. p. 181, and vol. iv. p. 38. 

The cultivation of potatoes, for the purpose of obtaining their 
starch, covers a large extent of territory on the Continent. The 
method pursued in nearly all of the refineries is identical. The wet 
starch is first put in a large mash-tub, where, under constant stirring 
for an hour, it is entirely dissolved in water and dilute acid. From 
the mash-tub it is run in vats, where it can be boiled by steam ; here 
it remains if for sugar four or five hours, for syrup two or three 
hours. It is then put into the neutralizing tanks, to be treated with 
carbonate of lime, and left until the sediment, chiefly composed of 
gypsum, has settled — this usually requires six hours. The sweet 
liquid thus obtained is evaj)orated in vacuum pans, filtered, and left 
to crystallize, if sugar is to be made, or is else manufactured into 
syrup. The great increase in the vine-growing districts of America 
has occasioned an enlarged demand for glucose, and the manufacture 
of this article appears destined to assume very large proportions in 
the United • States, where Indian corn can be obtained in unlimited 
quantity at a very low price. 

SORGHUM SUGAE. 

Attempts have been made from time to time to introduce and 
extend the cultivation for sugar of a species of millet or sweet 
cane, the Sorglium saccliaratum, Pers., Andropogon saccharatus, Eoxb. 
This grass, allied to the Sorghum vulgare, or Dhurra plant of North 
Africa and the Guinea corn of the West Indies, is grown in the 
north of China for the extraction of sugar. In New South Wales it 
has been found to stand frost better than the sugar-cane proper, and 
is little affected by floods. It comes to matui'ity in five months, and 
therefore may be employed as an interval crop, alternating with sugar- 
cane, and keeping the sugar mills going. In 1868 there were 296 acres 
planted with sorghum imphee in various districts, but in 1872 this was 
reduced to 32 acres. Present experiments lead the growers to expect 
from If to 2 tons of sugar to the acre. When not grown for sugar, 
the plant yields abundance of valuable food for cattle, at the rate of 
30 to 40 tons of cane per acre. 

In France M. Vilmoren states that it is capable of yielding on an 
average, from an acre of land, 26,000 lbs. of juice, containing from 
10 to 13 per cent, of sugar ; and that this is more than the average 
yield of the sugar beet. It is alleged, however, that the plant is 
adapted to only a few parts of the south of France. 

Mr. Leonard Wray asserts that some of the varieties of Sorghum 
which he introduced from Natal gave 30 cwts. of sugar per acre, that 
it has yielded from a poor handmill 68 per cent, of juice, containing 
15 per cent, of sugar. Where the sugar-cane has yielded 30 it has 
given 25, but then there is often a second and a third crop to be 



SUGAR. 



219 



obtained within the year. This plant can in many localities be 
advantageously utilized for preparing treacle. For this purpose the 
sap is expressed at the time of flowering and simply evaporated ; the 
yield is about 100 gallons from the acre. 

Since 1855 its cultivation has steadily increased in many countries. 
It is grown in France and Algeria for alcohol chiefly, in Italy for its 
syrup in wine making. 

In the North-western States of America where it flourishes, there 
were in 1864, 366,670 acres under sorghum, and sorghum sugar was 
selling at Chicago at 4:^d. per lb. In 1860 nearly seven millions of 
gallons of sorghum treacle were produced in the United States. This 
had increased in 1870 to 16,050,089 gallons, and 24 hogsheads of 
sorghum sugar were made. 

In the state of Kansas there were 23,026 acres under sorghum in 
1875. The produce was 2,542,512 gallons of syrup. 

Sorghum is cultivated to a considerable extent in the Ohio belt of 
counties, Western Virginia. It is used entirely for the manufacture 
of molasses for home consumption, where the locality has been more 
or less denuded of its maple trees. Most persons prefer the syrup 
prepared from the maple to the molasses from sorghum, as the latter 
has too commonly from imperfect ripening an acid taste. This cane 
succeeds well, and in good soil, when well matured, yields from 200 
to 300 gallons per acre. The total production for the state of West 
Virginia was given in 1876 at 780,829 gallons.* 

The chief merit of the sorghum is, however, as a forage plant, and 
its value for feeding stock cannot be surpassed by any other crop, 
since a greater amount of nutritious fodder can be obtained by it in 
a shorter time, within a given space, and more cheaply. It cannot 
be propagated by cuttings like the cane, but ratoons when the stems 
are cut down. 

Those interested in the culture of this plant will find a good 
practical and chemical description in a work by Mr. F. L. Stewart, 
of Philadelphia, 'Sorghum and its Products,' 1867. In the 'Indian 
Agriculturist ' of Calcutta, vol. i. p. 222 (1876) there is an ac- 
count of its value as a forage plant ; and further useful details will 
be found in the ' Bulletin of the Society of Acclimatization,' Paris, 
vols. iii. V. vi. and vii. 

* ' Eesources of West Virginia,' by Professor Maury, 1876. 



( 220 ) 



SECTION II. 



THE USEFUL PALMS, AND THEIR ECONOMIC 
PRODUCTS. 

The number of known species of palms is over one thousand. 
Althougli chiefly natives of tropical regions, we may learn from 
Von Martius's great work that there are many extra-tropical members 
of this princely order which were known to him in 1850, when that 
masterly work was concluded. Several of the latter furnish useful 
products to commerce, such as the dwarf palm (Chamcerojps humilis). 

There is scarcely any family of trees that are more generally 
useful in tropical regions than the palm tribe. Many a single 
member of this family has numerous special and important economic 
uses, renderiug it invaluable to the natives. Some palins are very 
widely diffused over the globe, others are at present restricted to 
certain countries, but there is no reason to doubt that by a little 
careful management several of the most useful could be introduced, 
and acclimatized in other quarters. Numerous races depend almost 
entirely upon the palms for many important products ; wood and 
leaves for habitations, bark and leaves for fabrics and cordage, buds 
and fruit for food, and sap for sugar and spirit. With the view of 
diffusing practical information concerning their growth and useful 
products, I give such information concerning the principal palms as 
I have been able to collect. 

The Cocoanut Palm (Cocos nueifera) is one of the most useful trees 
of tropical regions ; all its parts are utilized, but its fruit is the most 
important product. In preparing plantations, the nuts for sprouting 
should be chosen from those fully ripe, having full, large eyes, and 
such as have been gathered from trees past the middle age — not, 
however, from aged ones — and from clusters containing few fruits. 
These, if carefully planted, are said to ensure the timely sprouting 
and steady growth of the plant as well as future luxuriance, longevity, 
and unintermitting fruitfulness. Such nuts as are gathered from 
February to May are generally the richest in oleaginous properties, 
and hence should be preferred. Nuts taken from older trees have 
the eyes small, and the sprout will in consequence be thin, weak, 
and disproportionately long; and the future tree, if able to bear 
fruit, irregular and deficient in produce. Those nuts which may be 
taken from trees of immature age will, if planted, rot away at the eye ; 



THE OOCOANTJT PALM. 



221 



and the plants, if any be successfully reared, on transplanting will 
grow very rapidly and acquire bulk, but tbe fruit will drop before the 
kernel acquires consistency, the root stalks break, and the treea 
entirely fail before mid age. 

The nuts for seed should not, on being gathered, be allowed to fall 
to the earth, but be lowered in a basket or fastened to a rope. If 
let fall, the polished cover to the fibres will be injured and collect 
damp about the nut, or the shell inside may be cracked, and the 
water disturbed. These are fatal injuries, or even if the plants 
still grow, they will on being transplanted not make fresh shoots, 
but produce weak trees having their fronds constantly drying up, 
nuts rarely matured, and often are even without kernel in those 
which appear perfect. If the nuts are allowed to dry on the tree 
before gathering, the plants are liable to be lost, not having water 
inside to cherish the growth of the sprout (before the actual roots 
shoot into the soil). 

The seed nuts, after being gathered, should be carefully kept for 
not less than a month before they are planted (in order that some of 
the moisture be absorbed, and the hard outer skin or rind be rendered 
dry and waterproof). If the seed be immediately planted, the outer 
pod with the containing fibres will rot, and there will be no sprout. 
The eye will rot, or be a long time sending out the shoot, which will 
inevitably produce a weak, profitless plant. On the other hand, 
should a longer time intervene between gathering and planting seed 
than prescribed, the capsule of the fruit will fall off, and consequently 
the exposure to damp and rain will affect the eyes ; there will then be 
no plants, or very indifferent ones. The seeds should be planted on 
an elevated plot or bed of land, where water will not stagnate. The 
plants will be strong if the nuts are placed on the hard sandy court- 
yard of the planter's dwelling house ; or if placed in flower-pots with 
good spil and sand in them, no damage will be done by white ants, 
and v^ry few will fail to germinate. If, however, they are placed on 
a hard soil which the roots cannot penetrate, and exposed to the sun, 
the water inside will dry up, damage will be done by ants, and those 
few that throw out shoots will be weak, and on transplanting, the 
roots will break and the sprouts be severed from the nuts. If, on the 
other hand, they are deposited on uneven ground or too moist soils, 
both the fibrous covering and the eyes will rot, and the seeds come to 
grief. 

Nurseries should be somewhat exposed to the influence of the sun, 
though not too much heat ; plants thus grown will even, though defi- 
cient in stature, be strong, and when transplanted will not fail nor 
suffer from heat. Should plants, however, hav.e but little sun, no great 
harm is done ; but if they be grown entirely under cover, insects will 
infest them, the stems will be long, tapering, and weak, the fronds 
will be often unable to sustain their own weight, and when trans- 
planted, eaeh successive hot season will affect the trees. 

The planting of the nuts should take place from January to April, 
and also in August, provided the rains are not heavy, and then the 
planter may expect fruitful trees to be produced when grown ; but 
nurseries formed during the heavy monsoon will generally fail, or 



222 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



produce trees whicli will yield small nuts. Too much moisture of 
every kind is injurious to plants. 

The seed beds, where the plants are to be nursed, should be well 
dug to about two feet deep, and all stones, roots of trees, &c., removed ; 
the cocoanuts should then be laid along flat on their side in the soil, 
in such a way that all but two inches of them be buried, the interval 
between the nuts being about a foot at least. Should the spaces be 
too great, the plants will have too many roots, and the sun will not 
be shaded from them by the fronds, which will be shown by the pale 
green of the leaf. But should the nuts be placed too close to each 
other, the young shoots will be then meagre and. quickly spindle up ; 
the roots too will twist together and be broken when the plants are 
taken up to be transplanted. Though manuring is of little use before 
they have taken root, yet in order to prevent white ants, &c., a 
mixture of salt and ashes, or ashes alone, should be -put into the 
trenches made in the beds for receiving the cocoanut. Sand alone, or 
salt with ashes, sand, and paddy husk, form another mixture to be 
placed between the earth of the bed and the nuts, which latter 
should be covered with the compost. Black salt, ashes made from 
the cocoanut husk, and fronds with sea sand, is the best mixture. If 
this precaution be not used, many of the nuts will be injured and 
the plants grow pale and weak. 

Some, however, are of opinion that these composts should not be 
used in the nursery, as they tend to force the plant, which, when 
transplanted, will then decline, but that the application is best after 
transplanting ; and that in the nursery beds, black salt dissolved in 
water is sufficient to keep off white ants ; early manuring, in their 
opinion, lessening its after effects. 

The next care is to water the nursery, which should be done only 
every second or fourth day according to the dryness of the weather, 
simply keeping the soil moist ; for if the ground is too damp, rot is 
engendered, but if too dry the cocoanut water inside the nuts will 
evaporate and the shoots dry up. A careful observance of these 
instructions will cause the shoots to sprout generally within six 
months from the time they are placed in the ground. 

Some place those cocoanuts intended for seed, tied together in pairs 
by a strip of the covering on the cadjan, over the roof tree of the 
dwelling house, or on branches of jack trees, freely exposing them to 
sun, dew, and rain. But when the shoots are a few inches long, they 
are taken down and placed in a nursery till transplanted. Such 
plants are seldom lost, and make no great delay in yielding fruit. 
Once the tender shoots begin to appear, no great care is necessary 
for manuring, but the greatest attention should be given that no 
cattle or insect, &c., injure the shoot itself, else the slightest blow or 
abrasion will cause a want of vigour ; but on the other hand, some 
suppose that unless either ashes alone, or mixed with salt and sand, or 
these separately, be applied to the plants every month, a want of colour 
will be visible in the opening leaves, or ants and other destructive 
insects will be fostered. Plants are removed for transplanting gene- 
rally in the second or third month, sometimes even in the ninth 
month, but rarely so late as the fifth month ; but in ordinary cases, if 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



223 



they .be transplanted six months after the shoot makes its first appear- 
ance, their safe growth and vigour may be looked for. In low-lying 
lands, however, it is preferable to have plants of one year's growth, 
though they are more difficult in managing. The only benefit to be 
expected in transi)lanting older plants is that the planter looks for an 
earlier return, and in planting these on the banks of rivers or low 
lands formed from the wash of the monsoons, the crops will not be 
deficient. Plants left too long in the nursery and then removed are 
apt to have the fibrous supports at the foot of the fronds decay, so 
that these hang down, wither, and dry up, and new fronds and leaves 
do not make their appearance for four or more months, and these 
generally die prematurely. Some of the planters give it as their 
opinion that the transplanting may be effected from January to May, 
and again in August, October, and November (i. e. omitting the wet 
months). Perhaps, however, the general rule should be, that in low, 
damp situations, planting may be effected during the hot season, in 
salt marshes and on hill-sides during the monsoon. It is said that 
those trees planted from January to June will yield fruit for eight 
months in the year, and those planted in October for six months, 
while those planted in June and July in the heavy rains will scarcely 
be fruitful at all. Different places and soils require different seasons 
for this operation, to be learned only from experience or observation 
of neighbouring gardens. Soils suitable for a cocoanut plantation 
are variously described as below, particularly observing that stony 
grounds, or those overlying rocky foundations, are to be avoided : 

1. Soils mixed with sand, either dark-coloured or river-washed. 

2. Where sand is mixed with clay, ferruginous earth, or black 
mould. 

8. Clayey soils where the under strata consist of sand. 

4. Sand and clay, even when mixed with gravel and pebbles. 

5. The sea-shore banks of backwaters, rivers, tanks, and paddy- 
fields. 

6. Alluvium of rivers and backwaters, provided a yard and a half 
of land is to be generally seen above water level. 

7. Marshy land even in brackish soils (but not where salt is 
formed in crystals by evaporation). 

8. All level lands exposed to the sea breeze where the soil is good, 
as the valleys between hills, tanks, and ditches, which have been 
filled up. 

9. Lastly, even the floors of ruined houses well worked up, and 
any places much frequented by cattle and human beings, on account 
of the ashes and salts of ammonia from the urine, &c., deposited day 
by day in the soil. 

Sunlight is most beneficial to the cocoanut tree ; it increases the 
number of successive fronds and the crops of fruit, while if much 
shade is caused by trees of other kinds, there is a tendency in the 
lower part of the cocoanut stem to thicken, while the upper part 
grows thin and attenuated, with fronds at considerable intervals and 
little fruit. 

Exposure to regular breezes is also beneficial, for the constant 
movements of the tree tops have a tendency to strengthen and enliven 



224 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



the whole tree. The difference is easily seen by comparison with 
those in sheltered positions. The holes or pits into which the plants 
are to be transplanted, should be severally 12 yards distant on back- 
waters, but where a deep alluvial soil is found, 8 or 10 yards are 
enough. These distances are necessary, otherwise the trees not having 
room to expand their tops, repel each other and grow in diagonal 
positions, and are easily blown down or overset. Too close a neigh- 
bourhood also tends to draw up the trees into long feeble stems, 
shoots, fronds, and small fruit. In a level, loose soil, the hole should 
be a cube, of a yard and a half, on hill- sides 2 to 2 J yards, but in low 
grounds half or three-quarters of a yard deep with one yard square is 
sufficient. If the pits are not wide and sufficiently deep, the roots 
soon appear above the surface of the surrounding ground, and the 
hold upon the earth is weak, nor is sufficient nourishment obtained, 
and the monsoon storms quickly overturn the tree where the soil is 
marshy, though the hole need only be large enough to contain the 
seed and roots, and in a cold clayed ground, the holes are filled with 
sand and the plant deposited in it. Again, in low marshes, banks or 
terraces should be thrown up and consolidated previous to planting. 
If in any of these cases plants of two or three years old are used, 
the pits must be at least 2^ yards every way. The pits should be 
dug from two to six months before planting, and then prepared first 
by having heaps of fuel and weeds burned in them, and subsequently 
by manuring. The fresh earth is supposed to be full of ants and 
worms, and itself injurious to the new plant, and to hinder growth ; 
on the contrary, there are some planters who deny this statement and 
think the burning and manure not to be necessary. In low situated 
plantations new holes may be preferred and quick planting. No time 
should be lost in the removal from the nursery to the pits, indeed 
the day should not pass, — in which case within the month new roots 
and fronds may be looked for ; but where this proves impracticable, if 
the plants are kept cool and in shade, four to six or eight days have 
been known to intervene, but followed by very great loss in the number 
of successful trees. Inside the pits smaller ones should be made and 
filled with salt and ashes mixed with mould, into which the young 
plants are to be planted, with the nuts just covered with this compost. 
Some shade must be afforded, and care taken that the plants be not 
shaken or removed from their first position, and occasionally water 
should be sprinkled over them. The compost must be used when 
there is but a small proportion of sand in the soil. Ashes will suffice 
on the sea-shore, and sand in marshy and loamy soils. The roots of a 
plant under a year which are broken (but according to many planters all 
found on the nuts in the nursery) should have their ends cut, as new 
ones are supposed to be hastened by the process. Turmeric and 
arrowroot are often planted in the same pits with the cocoanut, as 
they are supposed in some way to repel white ants, rats, &c. After 
the plants are in, little pandals or sheds with twigs and branches 
should be made to protect them for the next six months, from too 
great heat of noon-day sun ; this prevents withering of the leaves or 
any check to the growth of the roots. 

On dry soils the plants ought to be watered twice a day for the first 



THE OOCOANUT PALM. 



225 



month, once a day will suffice for the next five, or until the monsoon 
showers come on, and once every two or three days during the dry 
seasons of three following years, according to circumstances. On 
hill-sides it is usual to water during the hot weather, even till the 
first buds appear ; and on sandy plains on the sea-coast, when the 
trees are in full bearing, eight or ten feet of bamboo (with the divi- 
sions at the joints broken to form the pipe) is often driven down 
by the side of the cocoanut tree, and cool water from weed-covered 
tanks is poured down to refresh the roots and lower soil. The soil 
round the young plant is often kept damp by a bed of leaves, par- 
ticularly such as will not be eaten by white ants. If the soil is 
naturally poor or of a hungry nature, salt, ashes, paddy husks, goats' 
dung, and dry manures may be applied for the first year, but in after 
seasons, fresh ashes, decayed fish, carrion, or other refuse, is preferable, 
also oil-cake. 

If the soil at the foot become too rich, the larva of a beetle, a large 
grub with a reddish-brown head, soon finds its way to the roots and 
into the stem, hence though the foot of the tree may enlarge, the 
stem does not develop itself, the new leaf-spike at the crown becomes 
yellow, fades, and is not replaced, nor does it open out into the usual 
frond, and in two or three months, sometimes a little longer, the 
whole tree top is affected and drops down piecemeal to the ground. 
It would appear that fear of this evil is the reason why ashes alone 
are recommended by so many cultivators. 

As soon as the new fronds have divided into the long side leaflets 
or lost their connected form, which is at the end of the first year, the 
soil should be dug up and ashes applied about once a month. When 
the tree is two years old, and henceforward at the commencement of 
every monsoon in May and June, the whole of the soil, a yard or two 
round the stem, must be opened out and ashes with dry manure 
applied and left open to the air ; and in October, when the rains have 
ceased, this freshened earth should be replaced and levelled. As the 
tree gets older and the depression at the foot is gradually filled up, 
it may not in after years be necessary to dig so deep as for the earlier 
growths. If the opening out of the roots and manuring be thus 
annually attended to, the tendency to form a sort of bulb on the sur- 
face and throw roots above the soil will be checked ; the old worn-out 
rootlets are cut away, strong roots from other trees and all weeds are 
removed, and the process acts both as " a wintering and pruning," as 
recommended by scientific gardeners in Europe to productions of their 
own gardens. Cattle are most destructive the first two years, in 
eating off the ends of the fronds and stripping the leaflets ; if the 
plants suffer often in this way, the growth is entirely stopped ; some- 
times the new leaf-spike is pulled out, and the tree dies. Should 
the heart of the stem and top not be injured, the tree will still remain 
an unsightly object, and often entirely profitless and barren. 

From the time that the leaflets become fully developed and distinct 
from each other, till the period that the spathes (or covers to the 
flower) make their appearance, the fronds should be shaken and 
weighed or pressed downwards each month, so as to keep them from 
each other and make them spread, and careful examination should be 

Q 



226 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



made lest rats, beetles, or worms have made nests upon the head, or 
bored into the cabbage heart of the palm, and this often. Some 
planters sprinkle ashes and salt about the spike shoots to keep insects 
away. The dried fronds, old spathes, fruit and blossom stalks, and 
ragged fibres should be removed at stated periods of perhaps a month, 
or as often as the nuts may hereafter be gathered. The application 
of salt and ashes to the tree tops is usual at least in March and 
October to keep off the swarms of insects, particularly red ants, which 
live upon the juices of the tree and render them fruitless. 

The cocoanut tree is at all periods of its life endangered by the 
attacks of enemies. While one beetle bores into the tender shooting 
leaf, and lays its eggs there, to be hatched into grubs which will eat 
their way in all directions, another will bore round holes into the 
stem itself and live there ; rats climb up and make their nests in the 
hollows of the branching fronds, and eat the cabbage itself or feast 
upon the young kernels. The common flying fox, or rousette, 
(Pteropus) gnaws round holes through husk and shell of the mature 
cocoanut, and will attack the young cocoanut, biting away large pieces 
from the tender part under the capsule, and, burying its head in the 
nut, will revel in the sweets within. The flying squirrel (Fteromys) 
will also make his abode in some cocoanut topes near woods or forest 
trees, and at nightfall attack the nuts, and two or three dozen may be 
picked up every morning with the marks of his teeth upon them, or 
partly destroyed. The common striped palm squirrel is also some- 
times found destroying the nuts and blossom — while red ants and 
parrots attack the blossoms only. The most effective method of 
obviating these evils is to shoot the flying foxes and squirrels by 
moonlight, to use arsenic with grated cocoanut pulp, or pounded glass, 
oil, and black sugar mixed in cocoanut shells, left in the tree tops. In 
one plantation of about 15,000 trees, six to seven hundred rats were 
taken month after month in trap falls. The red ant's nest should be 
sought out and destroyed. A large wasp will attack the very small 
nut, taking it for the material of its nest. Besides using ashes 
sprinkled often with salt between the fronds, some natives place 
onions, garlic, or even asafoetida and fenugreek there, thinking the 
scent will keep off beetles and grubs. When the spathe is cut for 
drawing toddy, the frequent visits of the men will tend to keep other 
intruders away, but the smell of the toddy is said to invite rats and 
wild cats. If any of the extracted juice falls from the receiving 
vessel on to the young spike or leaf, it is said to cause it to decay by 
attracting insects to bore into the fronds. Grass should be kept 
down by feeding off with goats and cattle. In marshy lands cattle 
are apt to make deep tracks and break down the margins of the 
terraces, hence goats or calves only are allowed ; and the undergrowth 
is to be annually cut for the repairs of paddy fields, and this is 
another source of profit. 

Planting jack, mango, tamarind, punna, coffee, and other trees, as is 
often done, close to the cocoanut palm, is thought to be detrimental, 
as is also allowing the pepper and betel vines to climb the tree, or even 
the sowing of maize, gram, or any of the dry pulses under the shade. 

But areca-nut trees may be planted and all other palms, and the 



THE COOOANUT PALM. 



227 



ground may be dug, and various kinds of yams and tuberous roots cul- 
tivated with advantage. 

If the instructions given are followed, distinct leaflets will begin to 
show themselves at the end of the first year, and be completed at the 
end of the second, on each frond, which will be 3 inches thick in the 
stem or leaf stalk next the parent trunk. 

In the third year the bottom of the frond will assume somewhat the 
form of a horse-shoe where it clasps the main tree ; and in the fourth 
year the trunk of the tree will appear slightly above ground, and is 
then called " a cocoanut tree with the elephant's foot," and will have 
not less than twelve fronds. About the fifth year the trunk is fully 
manifested, and there should be about twenty to twenty-four fronds ; 
when a luxuriant well-grown tree begins to bear fruit, there will 
be no less than thirty-six of these branches or fronds. If a tree 
receives much attention, and is close to a hut or stall for cattle, these 
processes may be hastened, but on a rocky hill-side they will be much 
delayed, two or more years being required in addition to each stage. 

Spathes (chotta) or shoots, from which eventually the flowers are 
to appear, will begin to make their appearance in the sixth year, but 
some kinds of cocoa palm, as the Nicobar, even before this ; but on 
other soils seven to fifteen years may pass without the slighest appear- 
ance of the spathes. The height of the stems at this important 
period, in some kinds of tree usually, and in all when influenced by 
the soil, will be only a foot or two above the ground ; while in other 
places the stem may be 16 feet high. For the first few months these 
flower shoots are deceptive and only dry up, but within the year begin 
to retain their blossoms and bear a few fruit, yielding abundantly in 
three or four years after their first appearance. 

In six months from blossoming the nuts will have the kernel begin 
to solidify, and in a year the fruit is fully ripe — even sooner if the 
season is very hot and dry. 

The produce of the tree in full health and properly tended is 
much dependent on soil and climate. The average may be put down 
at 120 nuts in the twelve months, while in a low and sandy soil it will 
amount to 200 , and when planted in gravel and laterite foundations 
not 60 ; the most productive months are from J anuary to June, that 
is for ripe nuts, the heat bringing them quickly to maturity. 

It is calculated that where the roots of the trees can reach water, 
and the soil is alluvial, the trees will bear from eight to ten bunches 
or crops of fruit ; in other and higher lands not more than six. 

One hundred cocoanuts perfectly grown and carefully dried will, it 
is generally calculated, yield when pressed ten to thirteen edangalies 
(each containing 92 cubic inches) of oil (40 nuts to an imperial 
gallon). Inferior cocoanuts will vary from three to nine edangalies ; 
fruit taken from trees on salt marshes have the least oil. 

When the trees begin to show the fruit-shoot, or spathe, it is often 
thought advisable to extract the juices for toddy, and not allow the 
blossoms to be grown ; but this only in the monsoon, and for that 
season only. This is supposed to render the future fruit bunches 
more numerous and give the sap a tendency to flow. In some places 
trees are never allowed to bear fruit, but toddy is always extracted. 

Q 2 



228 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



Drawing toddy for a few montlis is thought to check the habit in 
some trees of dropping immature fruit, and again of preventing 
injurious animals and insects from infesting plantations, the frequent 
visits of the men to the trees being a check to their forming nests and 
otherwise remaining hid in the tree tops. 

Overdrawing of toddy will cause the luxuriant trees to dwindle 
away and acquire very sickly habits, and may make them barren ; 
hence, if a tree is allowed to be drawn for toddy for six months, this 
should not be repeated till another five years at least have elapsed, 
otherwise they become exhausted and short-lived. Ants, bees, and 
other creatui'es are attracted by the sweet toddy : not only should the 
vessel be protected from them, but the liquid, as before noticed, should 
not be spilled over the young leaves. 

While certain of the fruit-shoots are cut for toddy the others will 
still produce cocoanuts, as well as those previously developed ; but if 
three or four be used for this purpose, the others will di'y away or be 
of very little use. Even when a spathe is partly used for toddy and 
left, provided the part containing the buds remains undestroyed, a few 
fruit may be produced on that stalk. 

Five parras, of ten edangalies each, of good arrack may be made 
from a single tree devoted to this purpose during a single year ; but 
some very good trees will give, though rarely, eight to ten parras. 
- Gathering some of the tender cocoanuts from the earlier bunches 
will develop the succeeding bunches greatly, and strengthen the 
whole tree very materially. It is not, however, recommended to cut 
the fruit stems or stalks out before they are matured and dry, as it 
causes the tree to bleed and lose its most valuable juices ; hence, in 
order to prevent the possibility of injury to the tree, owners should 
permit none but mature fruit to be taken. 

The number of fronds which dry and fall off from a tree is eight or 
ten in the course of the year, principally in the hot season. It is usual 
to cut these off, but if done too early those next the one cut are 
affected and fade ; hence only those turning brown should be removed, 
and leaving a small portion of the foot stalk on the tree. It must be 
remembered that the drooping leaves are intended to protect the tree 
stem from the burning sun. 

Thirty species of the cocoanut are described and named in the 
East as in the subjoined list ; but cultivation and incidental natui-al 
causes have much to do with this diversity, and in a few cases these 
are but imaginary distinctions : 

Names. Description. 

1. The green cocoanut .. The fruit and fronds are of a bright green. 

2. The black or dark . . These are of a dark green. 

3. The native . . . . The fruit has a yellow tinge. 
This name is given to what is supposed to be 

the best kinds, one variety yellow and the 
other a light brown or light colour, and 
of beautiful form, 

6. The reddish cocoanut The nut has a strong red tinge. 

7. The red ditto , . , . Is brighter than the last. 

8. The crimson ,. .. Even the pulp and fresh fibres of the husk 
round the nut are pink, and the fronds 
are reddish. 



4. (rt) Goulpatra 

5. (6) Ditto . . 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



229 



Names. Description. 
9. The simbright . , . . The nut has a beautiful fading blush, the 
fruit being small in size, but numerous. 

10. The white The nut and fronds have a grey bloom. 

11. The milky .. .. The pulp is creamy and thick. 

12. Oblong oval .. .. The fruit is long, and the ridges well de- 

veloped. 

13. The Tanjore .. .. The nut is long and pointed, with a large 

base. 

14. The Oora The nut is pointed at each end, anil oblong. 

15. The globular .. .. The bunches contain many large round 

fruit. 

16. Small round ,. .. Fruit more numerous, but also very round. 

17. Minute cocoanut , . A diminutive fruit, but made up by number, 

18. The weighty cocoanut Fruit few, but large and heavy, with thick 

kernel, 

19. The heavy ditto . . The eyes of the fruit are small, but the copra 

or dried kernel is very full of oil. 

20. Male cocoanut . . , . There is a peculiarity in the fronds, and the • 

leaflets do not separate from each other, 

21. Foreign cocoanut .A Evidently from the Maldives ; both the nut 

22. The island cocoanut . , / and fruit-stems reddish. 

23. The Portuguese .. The same as above. 

24. Shanar or Ceylon . , Nut large and red, fronds slightly bluish. 

25. The Dutch . . . . Fruit, &c., a red pale colour. 

26. The Goa Two fruits only on each bunch, and these 

dark green. 

27. Jaffna cocoanut .. Hure again the fruit is large, but few in 

number. 

28. Palamcotta .. .. The fronds of this tree are pale yellow. 

29. The ship cocoanut . . Stem or trunk of the tree and leaves small, 

and all tinted with black spots as if 
blighted. 

30. The Maldive .. The covering of the fruit is of a whitish or 

washed-out blue. 



The red and tlie black kinds are generally supposed to be the most 
fruitful, altliough with careful cultivation of any of the above described 
none need be disapx^ointed in the returns, and this will be in propor- 
tion to the labour bestowed. 

Trees growing in the most fertile soils will live for a century, 
others less favoured from sixty to eighty years only ; the former will 
yield their fruit commencing at the tenth year, and with rare intervals 
continue until their sixtieth year, and then gradually decrease in 
fruitfulness till they decay.* 

Although its real locality is bordered by the tropics, and the tree 
is an inhabitant of the coast regions, it grows in India up to Luck- 
now, 26° 50' N., and is cultivated far in the interior of the peninsula, 
yet in the first case it does not fruit, and in the second it becomes 
stunted and languishes. Its tall trunk often attains a height of 
90 feet, with a diameter of 3 feet at the base, and 1 foot at the 
summit. In favourable localities each peduncle will bear from five 
to fifteen nuts, and a tree in full vigour may have eight, ten, or a 
dozen of these peduncles flourishing in the course of five or six 
weeks, so that a tree can yield 80 to 100 nuts in the year. These 
ripen successively, and there may thus be seen at the same time 
flowers and fruits. 

* ' Agricultural Gazette of India,' vol. iii. 



230 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



From the fruit is obtained many articles of luxury and trade, thus, 
first, the husk. After the thick green external pellicle is stripped off 
the shell, it is placed to dry in the sun ; this being fibrous is beat 
into a sort of hemp, and is known in this state by the name of Coir. 
It is spun into cables, ropes, and yarn of every dimension and size, 
from a single pack-thread to a cable for a first-rate man-of-war ; and 
it is preferable for ship's use, as it is elastic and becomes as hard 
as iron when tarred and soaked in salt water, but it is more unwieldy 
for stowage than hemp rope. Large quantities of it are annually 
sent from Ceylon, Bombay, and parts of the Malabar and Coromandel 
coast. 

The albumen, or kernel, produces oil by boiling it in water, after it 
has been pounded or rasped. Grated, a sweet milk, used as a sub- 
stitute for cow's or goat's milk, is produced, by various preparations. 
Jelly, copra, butter, candles, and sugar are produced, and, by fermen- 
tation, vinegar. The oil it yields is used at table, and is equal in 
quality to oil of almonds when fresh, but it soon becomes rancid, and 
in this state is only used locally by painters, or to burn in lamps. 
The natives of India use it in quantities for anointing their persons ; 
it gives a fine gloss to the skin. A soap is also manufactured from it, 
which, with the exception of one prepared from the coratoe {Agam 
Americana), and discovered by Dr. Robinson about eighty years ago, 
is the only one known soluble in salt water. 

The kernel is used as a fattening substance in the dairy, aviary, &c. ; 
and there is not any description of animal, graminivorous, carnivorous, 
or herbivorous, that does not feed on it with avidity. It is wholesome 
food for man, beast, and bird. 

Medicinal Properties. — The oil is given in plethora and as a vermi- 
fuge in Jamaica. It is given while fasting, warmed and with a little 
sugar, in flux. An emulsion of the oil and kernel is prescribed in 
coughs and pulmonary diseases generally. Pound the kernel with 
water, place it to settle, and skim off the cream. It is preferable to 
the expressed oil.* The outside, scraping of the husk, and branches 
applied to ulcers will cleanse and heal them rapidly if soaked in proof 
rum ; the efficacy of this application was proved by the cure of two 
bad ulcers occasioned by the bite of a negro's teeth. The young roots 
boiled with ginger and salt are efficacious in fevers, same as the 
bamboo.f In the Maldives, where it is indigenous, the cocoanut oil 
is esteemed a powerful antidote against the bite of poisonous reptiles ; 
indeed in such cases most oils are. 

Its chemical properties are as follows : The milk of the cocoanut 
effervesces with an acid extract of that plant, and the acid then pre- 
cipitates in a greyish hue, which becomes of a rich violet colour by 
the addition of a fixed alkali. It is with this that most cottons are 
dyed. This emulsion mixed with quicklime causes the alkali to 
become rose-coloured. Dyers use this milk with great advantage 
in dyeing black linens, silks, and cotton stuffs. 

The nut when it is gathered young contains an opaline water, 
which is quite clear if filtered, and is utilized for drinking. In 
countries where potable water is not obtained, only the milk or water 
* Dancer. f Hort. Jamaic. 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



231 



of the cocoanut is drunk ; it is an agreeable, nutritive, and healthy- 
beverage. The gelatinous albumen when young is easily detached 
from the shell with a spoon, and may be eaten with satisfaction. It is 
a delicate food, which is too little appreciated by Europeans, as it 
contains all the constituents of wholesome nourishment. As it ripens 
the albumen hardens and becomes almost horny, and the oil increases, 
although in this state it is still edible, but indigestible, and only 
eaten associated with other food. The following shows the com- 
position of a young cocoanut and a ripe cocoanut : 

V'oung Nut. Ripe Nut. 

Husk and shell 1-760 .... 816 

Kernel 0-090 .. .. 434 

Water 0-300 .. .. 250 

Total 2-150 .. .. 1-500 



The percentage of the albuminous and alimentary portions of the 
young and mature fruit is as follows, according to the analysis of 
Mr. J. Lepine, of Pondicherry : 



Water. 





Young Nut. 


Ripe Nut. 




1-40 .. 


1-64 




0-47 


0-26 




0-05 .. 


0-06 


Chloride of sodium . , 


0-09 .. 


0-10 




0-06 .. 








o'os 


Acetate of lime and potash 


0-31 .. 


0-33 






0-16 




, 97-62 .. 


.. 97-47 


Albumen. 






1-00 


0-48 




0-33 .. 


0-71 




1-46 ., 


0-30 


Oil 


2-31 


.. 30-00 




. 4-40 .. 


14-41 


Potash and other salts . . 


.. 0-12 .. 


1-10 




0-04 .. 






, 90-34 ., 


53- 00 



Cocoanut Oil. — Copra or copperah, the dry albuminous pulp, con- 
tains 54-3 per cent, of oil; dried at 100° it yields 66 per cent. This 
oil, which is the most important product, is prepared in various ways. 
If it is intended for perfumery use, and is required colourless, the fol- 
lowing process is employed. The kernel is plunged in water and 
boiled for a few minutes, then taken out and grated and placed in the 
oil press ; the emulsion thus obtained is boiled until the oil rises to the 
surface. This process, however, is not cheap enough for the ordinary 
practice of commerce, and common rude oil mills are used. These 
cost about lOZ., and will last for five years. They are worked by a 
man, a boy, and two oxen; working eight hours a day they will 
operate on 130 lbs. of copra, from which they will obtain 41 litres. 
The characteristics for determining the purity of the cocoanut oil 



232 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



are its points of congelation and density. It solidifies at 18°. Taking 
the mean of the three following averages, the weight may be easily 

ascertained : 





Degrees. 


Density. 


Weight of Hecto- 
litre. 






25 
30 
35 


0-9188 
0-9150 
0-9116 


kilos. 
91-880 
91-500 
91-166 





Vast quantities of the oil are burned in lamps throughout the whole 
Indian Ai'chipelago and the Pacific Isles. A tumbler half filled with 
water has oil poured in to the brim. Two lighted sticks are the 
wicks, which burn brilliantly. Every native glories in a display of 
lamps in the house and about the grounds at the approach of night. 
When first taken out of the boiling pot the oil has a rich flavour, but 
soon becomes rancid. So copious is the supply, however, it can always 
be had fresh and sweet for the table. Like olive oil in Syria, it is 
butter, lard, or oil, according to circumstances, in cookery. Soap is 
made with it, lamps supplied, leather dressed, hair and skin anointed, 
and cosmetics are fabricated for beautifying the homely faces of 
women. 

The following have been the imports of cocoanut oil into the 
United Kingdom in the last quarter of a century : 



Cwts. 

1840 42,428 

1841 38,262 

1842 49,742 

1843 67,610 

1844 87,866 

1845 42,974 

1846 48,322 

1847 32,513 

1848 85,453 

1849 64,452 

1850 98,040 

1851 55,994 

1852 101,863 

1853 164,196 

1854 208,827 

1855 252,550 

1856 130,690 

1857 207,239 

1858 197,788 



Cwts. 

1859 184,758 

1860 194,309 

1861 274,992 

1862 170,485 

1863 320,180 

1864 375,218 

1865 190,228 

1866 110,046 

1867 124,314 

J 868 194,752 

1869 264,365 

1870 198,602 

1871 190,492 

1872 433,883 

1873 266,798 

1874 137,374 

1875 219,925 

1876 199,431 



Oil MacMnery. — The manufacture of cocoanut oil may be very 
profitably combined with the preparation of the fibre in one factory. 

The following machines and apparatus are necessary for producing 
the oil : 

Improved circular cutting machines, for reducing the kernel to 
small thin slices or shavings. 

Edge stone runners for grinding down the kernel to pulp. 



THE OOCOANUT PALM. 



233 



Improved steam pans, fitted with agitators, so arranged that every 
part of the pulp or copra is thoroughly separated, and exposed to 
a temperature varying (according to operator's desire) from 120° to 
180° Fahr., or higher if required. Valves, cocks, and all other 
suitable fittings for the discharge of pulp or copra. 

Steam heater for receiving pulp from steam agitator. 

Hydraulic presses for expressing the oil, specially designed for the 
purpose and of unusual strength, including plates and woollen bags 
and fibre mats, as may be required. 

Pumps for presses, made in the most improved and superior 
manner, with all necessary safety and self-acting relief valves, cocks, 
and mountings, pressure gauge, &c. If required, one set of pumps 
and gearing may be arranged to work two or more presses. 

Iron tanks for receiving the oil from the presses, of capacity to 
contain one day's make of oil. A gun-metal pump is employed for 
raising the contents to large settling tanks. These are generally 
made of cast iron, in plates of a convenient size, and properly pre- 
pared for re-erection, with bolts, nuts, washers, &c. 

The settling tanks should be of sufficient capacity to contain four 
days' produce of oil from the presses, and fitted with the necessary 
gun-metal test cocks and glass gauges, draw-off cocks, and valves. 

The following estimate of machinery, capable of producing about 
250 gallons per day, is furnished by Messrs. Priestman Bros., of Hull. 
In calculating production, 1000 nuts will average 32 gallons of oil : 



£ 

Two improved disc cutting machines 58 

Granite edge stone runners, with entablature, self-con- 
tained and complete 168 

One improved steam pan, with stirrers and driving gear . . 50 

Steam receiving pan 29 

Two hydraulic presses, with double pumps, stop valves, 
and connections 380 

Connecting pipes, or oil conductors from presses to oil 
receiving or spell tanks 15 

Oil receiving or spell tanks, to contain say 400 gallons 
each, with littings 36 

Gun-metal lift and force pump, for raising oil to setthng 
or storing tank 20 

Large cast-iron storing tank, to contain 1000 gallons, with 
gun-metal cocks complete 86 

Ten horse-power horizontal steam engine, of first-class 
make and finish, steam boiler, fitted with all mountings 
and furnace fittings complete, also steam and feed-water 
pipes and feed-water heater 330 

Complete set of best shafting, with pulleys, plummer 
blocks, couplings and leather belting for the machines 80 

Set of plates, mats, and bags for the hydraulic presses . . 60 

Packing and delivery in London 50 



If it is desired to erect a factory to manufacture both coir fibre 
and cocoanut oil, one engine can readily be adapted to work the 
whole of the machines. To drive the machines specified in the fore- 
going estimate, and also the coir-fibre machines, a 14 horse-power 
engine would be required for the combined arrangement. The engine, 
complete with Cornish boiler and all necessary mountings, fittings, 



234 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



and connections, all of best materials and workmanship, would cost 
450Z. Packing and delivery in London, lOZ. 

The cocoanut shell furnishes cups, which, carved on and set in 
silver, are a great ornament. It also makes small baskets, cups, 
ladles, spoons, and other such domestic articles, and fanciful orna- 
ments. By being burnt and pulverized, and prepared with other 
ingredients, it produces blacking not inferior to Day and Martin's, 
lampblack, black paint, &c. 

Cocoanut Fibre or Coir. — The fibrous husk of the cocoanut is not 
its least valuable product, and gives rise to a very large trade, both 
in the East and to Europe. At first it was only used in this country 
for stuffing mattresses and cushions, but its applications have been 
enlarged and its value greatly increased by mechanical processes ; and 
in a small pamphlet, issued by Mr. Trfeloar more than twenty years 
ago, he stated that its natural capabilities having been brought out, 
coir has been found suited for the production of a variety of articles 
of great utility and elegance of workmanship, table mats, fancy 
baskets, and bonnets. Instead of being formed into rough cordage 
only, and mats made by hand, by means of ingeniously constructed 
machinery, the fibre is rendered sufficiently fine for the loom, and 
matting of different textures and coloui'ed figures is produced, while 
a combination of wool in pleasing designs gives the richness and 
effect of hearthrugs and carpeting. Brushes and brooms for house- 
hold and stable purposes, matting for sheepfolds, pheasantries, and 
poultry yards, church cushions and hassocks, hammocks, clothes 
lines, cordage of all sizes, and string for nurserymen and others; 
for tying up trees and other garden pui'poses ; nose bags for horses, 
mats and bags for seed crushers, oil pressors and candle manufac- 
turers, are only a few of the varied purposes to which the fibrous 
coating of the cocoanut is now applied. 

When the landholder gets his nuts down from the tree, they are given 
over to be peeled. The peeling process is done in a very quick and 
dexterous manner by the natives. A crowbar, or a sharp-pointed piece 
of wood, is fixed erect on the ground, and the upright end serves to 
remove the husks ; the charge for peeling off the husks is trifling. 
For breaking the nuts and drying the kernels, nothing is charged ; 
but, according to the usage of the country, the breaker and preparer 
get the shells of the nuts. The husks, however, remain the property 
of the owner, and formerly used to be sold off for local consumption. 
But since coir yarn began to be so largely exported to England, it is 
seldom that the owners sell off husks as fuel, as they find that by 
burying them and then offering them for sale, they realise double the 
amount that they would when fresh. The best j)laee for burying the 
husks is the river bank where there are strong cuiTents. At ebb-tide 
large pits are dug, and the husks counted and thrown in ; and before 
the flood commences, they are covered up with mud, leaves, &c., and 
made quite secure. When the monsoon sets in, and the freshes come 
down, the pits are under fresh water, and from husks so rotted, the 
best coloured fibre is made. The reddish stuff' known in the market 
as Codaugaloor fibre, is generally prepared from husks buried in 
places where the water is throughout the year saltish. The older the 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



235 



pits the better the quality of the fibre, and shrewd purchasers always 
bear this fact in mind when speculating in the article. Some years 
back, the husks used to be kept in the pits for more than a year, but 
now they are not kept above six to eight months, for as soon as it is 
believed that they are rotten enough to throw out the fibre when 
beaten, they are removed. If kept above fifteen months, however, they 
spoil, and the fibre obtained is generally of a bluish colour, and of thin, 
poor staple, which is unsaleable in England. The price of rotten 
husks during the last few years has greatly advanced, and has fluctu- 
ated between 7 to 10 Es. per 1000. When a purchaser comes forward, 
the husks are either counted and delivered over, or, as is more 
usually done, the cadjan specifying the number buried in each pit is 
handed over and the bargain is supposed to be concluded. The stench 
emanating from the pits is often intolerable, and during the fibre 
season, travelling along the banks of the backwater is not a very 
pleasant thing. The purchaser hands over the husks to women, who 
beat out all the fibre with short heavy clubs ; and as labour is very 
cheap in the interior, this process is not a very expensive one. They 
have to clear the fibre of all pith, wash it clean and expose it to 
be dried, and in a half-dried state it is bundled up and brought into 
market for sale. In Calicut and other ports on the Malabar coast, the 
fibre is prepared by a different process, and hence the very undesirable 
quality of the yarn of those places. In Cochin and Travancore the 
natives seem to be more alive to the importance of bringing the article 
to market in its best condition, as they find that it pays them to 
do so. 

The constantly increasing demand for the prepared fibre is suffi- 
cient to induce many planters to cultivate largely the growth of the 
cocoanut. 

The short, woody, and apparently intractable fibres lining the 
inside of the husk of the cocoanut constitute the material which 
Hindoo ingenuity had long since converted into excellent cordage. 
A quarter of a century ago this was its only use; now a large 
industry has been created in it for matmaking and brushmaking, and 
we now import into the United Kingdom coir fibre, yarn, and cordage 
to the collective value of about 170,000Z. 

In 1845 under 10,000 cwts. of coir rope^and fibre of all kinds were 
shipped from Ceylon ; in 1870 it had increased to 58,000 cwts. 

The following figures give the shipments for a few years : 





Year. 


Coir Yarn. 


Coir Rope. 






Cwts. 


£ 


Cwts. 


£ 






1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 


46,869 
42,949 
57,961 
59,489 
46,764 


28,122 
26,039 
34,776 
35,687 
28,616 


8,097 
6,242 
6,692 
6,183 
9,635 


10,121 

7,803 
8,370 
7,730 
12,072 





The pericarp of forty nuts furnishes about 6 lbs. of coir. There are 
several ways of stripping the fibre from the husk. One is by placing 



236 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



a stake or iron spike in tlie ground, and by striking the nut on the point 
the fibre is easily stripped. The taunin which this substance contains 
prevents the fibre from rotting. The fibre is rather difficult to twist, 
but coir yarn is made into ropes, and forms the strongest, lightest, 
and most elastic cables for ships. Before the husk is put into water 
to steep it should be well beaten, for the purpose of loosening its 
texture, principally that of the outer surface, which is hard and 
compact, so that the water may penetrate it with more ease. It is 
then left to steep for two or three days, and again beaten, until the 
separation is accomplished. Care should be taken that the husk 
is kept moist, because if allowed to become diy, the ligneous fecula 
or spongy pulp, which is found intermixed with the fibre, adheres 
still more strongly to it. In some islands and parts of the coast 
where there are no running streams, holes are dug in the sand below 
high-water mark, and the husk buried several days previous to being 
beat. 

The separation of the husk is commonly done by tearing it off 
with the hands, aided by an axe. A simple application of the foot- 
power, used in the common turning-lathe or knife-grinding wheel, 
would enable one man to do the work at present the task of several. 
A double knife acting crosswise could be made to cut the nut and 
husk in two, and so prepare it for the extraction of the substance. 
Small, flat, pliant instruments would then easily extract the pulp 
from the shell of the nut, and leave it fit for the oil press. 

About four days' maceration in fresh water is requisite. After this 
the husk must be beaten till the fibres separate, when it should be 
well washed, dried, and packed in pressed bales. For the purpose of 
beating it out, an instrument in the form of bars, somewhat in the 
form of a gi*idiron, should be used. It is obvious that this process 
might also be advantageously performed by machinery. One person 
can beat out with the hand, according to the age of the nut furnishing 
the husk, from 7 lbs. to 14 lbs. per day, — say on an average 10 lbs., but 
by the use of proper instruments his work might be increased fourfold. 

Value of the imports of cordage and twine into the United Kingdom 
from Madras and Ceylon, chiefly coir : 



Year. 


Madras. 


Ceylon. 


Year. 


Madras. 


Ceylon. 




£ 


£ 




£ 


£ 


1866 


81,397 


67,418 


1871 


96,735 


48,419 


1867 


73,005 


60,100 


1872 


156,079 


76,542 


1868 


76,187 


67,929 


1873 


126,037 


70,288 


1869 


113,462 


64,126 


1874 


178,196 


63,560 


1870 


106,338 


52,263 


1875 


107,098 


59,594 



Machines. — The requisite machinery is simple in construction, and 
is easily worked by ordinary labourers. The following are required 
for the cleaning and preparation of the fibre, viz. : 

Tanks for soaking the shells or husks, for "roller mill." 

Koller mill for straightening the husks and preparing the fibre for 
the " breaking-down " machine. This is made on the most approved 
design, with fluted rollers, self-acting adjusting blocks, and screws, 



THE COOOANUT PALM. 



237 



wheel gearing, di-iving pulleys, &c., the whole complete and supported 
in a massive cast-iron frame. 

Breaking-down mill, of improved construction, the revolving drum 
accurately centred on shaft, and fitted with best selected steel " spikes " 
(so arranged that, if required, any number of these " spikes " may be 
easily removed, repaired, and replaced), "feed" and "fence" motion, 
with wheels and hopper gearings, brush fence, and' driving pulleys 
complete, all mounted on substantial cast-iron frame. 

" Willy " machine, designed and constructed for receiving the fibre 
from the " breaking-down mill." This machine separates the 
different qualities of the fibre, and removes all dust, shorts, and 
refuse, leaving clean fibre. The machine is made in a very substan- 
tial manner, is self-contained, fitted with all gearing complete, and 
mounted on strong cast-iron frame. 

Hydraulic press, for baling coir fibre for shipment, of the most 
improved design, and fitted with pumps and gearing complete. 

Shaftings, pulleys, plummer blocks, bolts, leather belting, &c. 

The following will be the approximate cost delivered in London of 
the plant, to clean say 7000 to 8000 husks per day : 



£ s. 

One crusher mill 32 

Six breaking-down mills 185 

One Willy machine 39 10 

Superior hydraulic press, with double pumps 

and fittings 230 

Shaftiug, belting, pulleys, &c 70 

Twelve combs, assorted 5 

Eight horse-power high-pressure engine, with 

large boiler 270 

Packing for shipment 27 



The foregoing machines, when all working properly, and with nuts 
of good quality, should produce from 32 to 85 cwts. of fibre, and 7 to 
8 cwts. of brush fibre per day of ten hours. 

One thousand husks of average size and good quality prepared by 
this machinery should produce 4^ to 6^ cwts. of fibre, and about 
1 cwt. of brush fibre. 

It is assumed that " soaking tanks " of wood or brickwork in 
cement can be made on the spot, and used in place of iron tanks, and 
therefore these are omitted in this estimate. 

The cost of a single " breaking-down mill " will be found from the 
price given in above estimate for six machines. 

Considering the wide-spread range of this palm, it is strange that 
the import of cocoanut oil has made such little progress compared 
with its great rival, the African oil palm. One reason may possibly 
be that the fruit is more generally used for food, and for the refresh- 
ing drink in the nuts when young. The cocoanut palm is cultivated 
in great abundance on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, Ceylon, 
the Laccadives, and everywhere in the Straits Settlements, and the 
islands of the Eastern Archipelago. In the Madras Presidency there 
are no less than 218,000 acres under cocoanuts. 

In the West Indies, Central America, and Brazil, the cocoanut is 
extensively grown ; there are groves of it for about 280 miles along 



238 



THE OOCOANUT PALM. 



the coast of Brazil. From Para alone 7^ niillion cocoanuts, worth 
130,000Z., are annually shipped to the United States and elsewhere. 

The annual produce of the plantations on the island of Itamarca, 
on that coast, is about 400,000 nuts, which would yield more than 
2100 cwts. of coir. This island is but three leagues in length, and as 
the coast alone is planted with these palms, and they are thus pro- 
ductive, what might not all the cocoanut groves yield, which extend 
along the coast from the river San Francisco to the bar of Maranguape, 
a distance of 94 leagues, all cultivated with cocoanut trees ? 

Many years ago Dr. Eoyle estimated the average produce of cocoa- 
nuts from the whole of Malabar at from 300,000,000 to 400,000,000 
annually, valued at 50,000Z., and copperah, or the dried kernels, was 
exported for as much more. Thirty years ago there were in Travan- 
core more than 5J million cocoanut trees, and since that period 
the cultivation has largely increased, as the demand for the oil and 
the coir has advanced. From Cochin more than 3000 tons of oil 
are exported. During the last fifteen years the natives of Cochin 
have been bestowing a vast amount of attention on cocoanut culti- 
vation, and some idea of the rate at which this is carried on may be 
realised from the fact that paddy (rice) land is converted into cocoa- 
nut plantations, and large portions of the backwater are reclaimed, 
and at once planted with cocoanut trees. 

Besides those grown, there is a large annual import of cocoanuts 
into Bengal, as the following return shows : 



Year. 


Number. 


Cwts. 


1871 


16,999,964 


24,291 


1872 


22,271,904 


49,509 


1873 


16,812,444 


20,274 


1874 


13,190,494 


60,462 


1875 


11,688,854 


25,108 



The most valuable product of commerce in Malabar is that from 
the cocoanut tree. In 1873 the value of the oil exported was 356,187/,, 
and of the coir, yarn, and rope, 176,482Z., making a total of 552,669/. 

Exports of coir, yarn, and rope from British India : 





Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 








cwts. 


£ 






1871 


103,264 


92,751 






1872 


128,954 


119,601 






1873 


181,456 


167,613 






1874 


162,576 


153,371 






1875 


152,745 


137,280 





Ceylon. — The great importance of the cocoanut in this island may 
be estimated from the fact that the value of the cocoanut plantations 
in the island are estimated at 15,000,O00Z. In 1865 there were 
332,890 acres under cocoanuts, chiefly situated in the north-western, 
northern, and southern provinces ; but this acreage has been reduced 
by one-half of late years. 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



239 



Sir Charles Dilke states that 200,000 acres of Ceylon land are 
shaded by cocoa palms, yielding from 700,000,000 to 800,000,000 
nuts a year, worth 2,000,000Z. sterling. This value is equal to 
2Z. 10s. a thousand, which is higher than one expects to find the 
nut is worth in the East. At 21 feet distance apart, an acre 
holds 98^ trees, and at an annual yield of forty nuts per tree 
(all ages), 200,000 acres would yield 788,000,000 nuts— being about 
the crop-quantity cited. The numbers hold together, but the dis- 
tance apart is too near. Healthy trees are, in the West Indies, 
held to average 100 nuts annually, and extraordinary ones more than 
double that number. If one island can yield so great a quantity, 
what possibilities are in store for such a widely -spread tree, nowhere 
else yet grown in any such extraordinary amount, but for which 
immense areas peculiarly suited to it, await its enriching groves. 
Trinidad has as yet only about 3000 acres in cocoanuts, if as much. 

Cocoanuts exported from Ceylon : 



Year. 


Number, 


Value. 


1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 

1870 

i 


2,055,453 
4,568,871 
1,738,199 
1,584,011 
/ 5,478,677 \ 
\ and 623 bags j 


£ 

6,468 
13,646 
5,256 
5,063 

17,185 



The production of nuts in the island seems to vary greatly. In 
1866, 128,660,280 nuts were collected, besides others not enumerated, 
but valued at nearly 26,000Z. In 1866, 115,435,370 was the number 
reported, and others to the value of 26,000Z. In 1868, only 30,672,624 
and 28,000/. worth were returned. 

Copperah or cocoanut kernels exported from Ceylon : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




cwts. 


£ 


1866 


55,569 


33,032 


1867 


23,302 


13,981 


1868 


5,338 


3,203 


1869 


17,649 


10,589 


1870 


40,638 


31,678 



So far back as 1857, the value of the products of the cocoanut 
shipped from Ceylon, exclusive of those used in the island, was 
274,462Z., thus made up : 





Quantity. 


Value. 




420,857 No. 


£ 

3,717 




18,881 cwts. 


13,984 




31,652 „ 


21,364 


Copperah or dried pulp . . 


20,381 „ 


12,143 


Oil 


1,767,431 galls. 


223,254 



240 



THE OOCOANUT PALM. 



In 1866 the collective products exported were to tlie value of 
294,718Z., and in 1870 they consisted of the following : 





Qoantity. 


Value. 




478,677 No. 


17,185 




9,635 cwts. 


12,072 




46,764 „ 


28,616 




40,638 „ 


31,678 


Oil 


135,658 „ 


170,217 




237,009 galls. 


20,326 






280,094 



Not only does Ceylon use up the poonac or oil cake left from the 
local oil-presses for manure and feeding poultry, but it also im- 
ported 186,207 cwts., valued at 69,829Z., in 1874. 

The following table gives the export and value of the chief pro- 
ducts of the cocoanut from Ceylon : 



Oil. 



Year. 



GaUs. 



Value. 



Com. 



Cwts. 



Value. 



1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 



1,118,638 
1,549,089 
1,040,428 
1,429,531 
1,878,585 
2,249,402 
1,176,784 
1,042,853 
1,345,485 
1,423,853 
1,292,065 
1,688,199 
2,577,700 



£ 

111,864 
154,909 
104,043 
142,953 
187,858 
224,948 
120,678 
104,400 
134,548 
142,385 
129,206 
168", 819 
257,770 



38,086 
36,616 
43,168 
46,595 
51,785 
36,313 
41,378 
46,687 
49,675 
68,804 
64,998 
61,666 
65,424 



£ 

25,945 
24,864 
31,883 
37,648 
39,103 
27,386 
31,637 
33,035 
34,446 
46,607 
43,013 
43,430 
45,448 



In the ten years ending 1871 the total quantity of oil exported was 
over 16,000,000 gallons, and of coir 533,325 cwts., the aggregate 
value of the two being 1,995,318Z. The oil shipped in the three years 
following was as follows : 





Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. . 






1872 
1873 
1874 


cwts. 
278,216 
113,872 
145,078 


£ 

330,689 
141,818 
169,373 





In French Cochin China there are more than 33,000 hectares of 
land under culture with cocoanut and areca palms. 

The cocoanut is extensively grown over all parts of the Eastern 



THE COOOANUT PALM. 



241 



Archipelago. The natives have it generally about their dwellings. 
The annual value of the produce from the trees in the Archipelago 
is estimated at 2,500,000/., and by greater care and attention it might 
be double. There were in 1874 in Amboyna 507,349 trees ; in Banca, 
122,898; in Minahassa, 605,300 ; in Gorontalo, 261,950, and 405 piculs 
of oil were there made. 

In Java and Madura there are more than 20,000,000 trees. There 
are large plantations of cocoanuts in the Seychelles, and a good many 
in the Mauritius ; 40,000 or 50,000 nuts are shipped yearly from that 
island, and 100 to 400 cwts. of coir cordage. 125,532 gallons of cocoa- 
nut oil, valued at 17,187Z., were shipped in 1874. 

Cocoanuts are grown in small quantities throughout the Straits 
Settlements, but it is only here and there that plantations of any 
magnitude are met with. 

There is, perhaps, no tropical colony that has so many advantages 
for coir making as the island of Penang. At present all the use the 
palm is put to, with the exception of making a rope for a well bucket, 
or for some other trifling domestic purpose, is for fuel. In the oil 
factories the husk is used as firing in boiling the kernel into oil, as 
well as in boiling rice and curry in the kitchens. About a couple 
of million nuts are also shipped from the Straits Settlements with 
the husk on. 

The ' Penang Gazette ' observes : Cocoanuts growing in mangrove 
soil on the side of creeks, and more or less saturated with salt, have 
their milk brackish, and the sap from which it is secreted must be 
saline also. These trees do not suffer from the attacks of the rhino- 
ceros beetle. Trees planted in such a situation are found to bear 
much sooner than those planted on a sandy soil. As an illustration 
of this, the ' Penang Gazette ' states that, while trees planted as far 
back as thirty years ago, on sandy soil, have not yet borne fruit — 
although they are fine-looking trees — other trees in the same planta- 
tion, only ten years old, but planted on low ground, where the sea 
tide comes up daily, washes the roots and runs off again, are in full 
bearing, giving from 50 to 100 nuts annually. It is true that the 
milk of the nuts produced by such trees is slightly brackish, but the 
kernel is as thick as that of cocoanuts grown on sandy soil, and 
produces as much oil. The chief requisite with regard to a planta- 
tion in such a situation, is attention to the drainage. Drains should 
be cut longitudinally between each row of trees and cross ones at 
greater intervals. These drains must be kept clear, so as to allow 
the salt water to flow in and out freely. The tide is found to deposit 
amongst the trees a very fertilizing matter. If the drains are not 
attended to and the water stagnates, the trees get dwarfed and become 
thin towards the top, thereby preventing them from having a large crown. 

In New Caledonia this palm is abundant on the north-east coast of 
the island, but is rare on the opposite coast, and while it flourishes 
on the northern aspect, it declines towards the south. It may be 
added, however, that nowhere does it vegetate so well as on the islands 
approaching the Line. It bears from 60 to 80 fruit. This palm is 
widely spread over the Pacific Islands, and a considerable trade is 
carried on in cocoanut oil. 



I 



212 



THE COCOANTJT PALM. 



At Tahiti tliere are about 200,000 cocoaniit palms, whicli produced 
in 1874 more than 12,500,000 nuts. About 600,000 only were ex- 
ported, and nearly 2,000,000 kilos, of copperah, or dried cocoanut 
pulp. In 1868, 690 tons of cocoanut oil were shipped from Tahiti ; 
in 1873, 420 tons of oil and 1368 tons of copperah. 19,000 kilos, of 
copperah were shipped in the same year from the Mai'quesas. In 1864, 
900 tons of cocoanut oil and 10 tons of coir were shipped from the 
Navigators' Islands, and within the last year or two a cocoanut-fibre 
machine has been set in full working order at Apia, Samoa Islands. 

The Friendly Islands exported in' 1866, 704 tons of cocoanut oil, 
worth 21Z. per ton. The manufacture is carried on there in the 
rudest manner. The nut is scraped and placed, mixed with a little 
sea water, in hollow logs to putrefy. The oil disengages itself, and 
is collected at the bottom of the ti'ough. 

The following has been the shipments of oil from the Feejee 
Islands : 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 



tons. 
600 
500 
459 
150 
250 
260 
200 



£ 

13,200 
11,000 
9,000 
3,260 
5,000 
5,500 
4,950 



From the Tuamotus Archipelago 3000 tons of copperah were shipped 
in 1873, but this is nothing to what may be expected. The single 
island of Anaa, it is stated, has more than 7,000,000 cocoa palms.* 
Assuming half of these are too old or too young to fruit, there remain 
3,500,000, and supposing 1,500,000 of these required to nourish the 
1500 inhabitants and their live stock, there would remain 2,000,000 
to furnish the raw materials of commerce. As a very ordinary tree 
would furnish 25 nuts yearly, this would give 50,000,000, and as 
100 nuts yield 50 lbs. of copperah, we have a total of 25,000,000 lbs. 
available for export. It might yield 12,000 tons with proper manage- 
ment. The number of trees in the Tuamotus will have more than 
trebled by 1879, for large plantations were made in 1866, and it 
takes ten years to bring the tree into full fruiting. 

For preparing copperah it is well to collect only ripe nuts, and 
not to break the nut until a month or six weeks after it has been 
gathered, the copperah then dries more quickly, is richer in oil, and 
does not turn mouldy. 

Jamaica. — In a recent report by Mr. R. Thomson, the colonial 
botanist, he states, that within the last few years no less than 18,500 
cocoanut palms have been planted on the long sandy spit known as 
the Palisadoes, running from Kingston to Port Eoyal, and about 
4000 more were to be planted. He adds : " I have already estimated 

* ' Revne Maritime et Coloniale,' April 1875, p. 81. Paris. 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



243 



the value, after seven or eight years' growth, of the total number of 
cocoanuts which the Palisadoes is capable of containing, at 2000Z. ; 
and this estimate I think moderate, as it gives the value of each tree 
at a little under 2s. It is a generally acce2)ted opinion that this tree 
flourishes luxuriantly in all maritime tropical regions, on the arid 
sandy sea-shore as well as in the richest valleys. There can, however, 
be no doubt that the tree grows with far greater luxuriance under 
favourable conditions of abundant moisture and rich soil, and it is in 
consideration of this that I estimate the annual yield of each tree at 
the low rate of 2s. The land on the Palisadoes is composed chiefly of 
sand, with an admixture throughout its greater extent of a rich vege- 
table mould. Severe droughts of from six to nine months' duration 
are frequently experienced, and although the tree may flourish in 
proximity to the sea, I consider that a greater rainfall on this sandy 
soil would double the return mentioned. The extremely arid condition 
of the Palisadoes and the neighbourhood of Kingston, probably the 
driest spot in the West Indies, has been brought about by the whole- 
sale destruction of the primeval forest over hills and plains to the 
extent, including the continuation of the plain to the west, of from 
four to five hundred square miles. Along the line of the shore the 
palm luxuriates throughout this district, but on receding to the 
distance of half a mile it ceases to present a flourishing aspect, until 
we reach the hills or the plain beyond the arid region where it again 
acquires the necessary condition — moisture. It would be a matter of 
some importance for statistical as well as utilitarian purposes, to 
ascertain what number of cocoanut trees there are in the island. I am 
not aware that any steps have ever been taken to determine this ; and 
if this be so, it seems all the more remarkable, when it is remembered 
that the nut is one of our most important products, and that the 
average of many of far less importance has been carefully ascertained. 
In the East Indies these trees are carefully enumerated, and in some 
parts a yearly tax is levied on each tree, and even mortgages are 
commonly secured to the extent of 2s. a tree. The 2,000,000 nuts, 
worth about 5000Z., exported annually from Jamaica, give a very im- 
perfect idea of the value of the tree to the colony. In each of several 
parishes, for instance, St. Thomas, Portland, and St. Mary, there must 
be over 100,000 fruiting trees, and the number is being constantly 
increased. Wherever the tree abounds, the nuts form an important 
article of food among the peasantry, either in their natural state or 
manufactured into oil. By the peasantry, however, the husk is not 
turned to any account, and is only manufactured to a very trifling 
extent in prisons, whilst if, at a moderate computation, we estimate 
the number of bearing trees at 1,000,000, each yielding, on an average, 
sixty nuts, the husks, if utilized, would give at least 50,000Z. Cocoanuts 
abound around nearly the whole seaboard of the island ; and within 
thirty miles of Kingston they are obtainable in large quantities, at 
100 per cent, less than they are bought for in town. It is a pity that 
the highly valuable products of this palm are not turned to better 
account, and it would be a great boon to the colony if private enter- 
prise would initiate a system of manufacturing oil for island con- 
sumption and coir for exportation, as the nuts could be obtained in 

R 2 



244 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



quantities to meet any demand, and brought to town in the coasting 
droghers. How many hundreds of acres are now covered with this 
stately palm, and how many thousands of the nuts annually fall to the 
ground, almost useless to the proprietor ! " 

It is a low and safe estimate to take the value of the produce of an 
acre of cocoanuts in bearing at from SI. to lOZ. On the sea-shore 
these trees begin to bear in six or seven years. A great part of the 
waste shores of this island is very suitable for the growth of the cocoa- 
nut ; and the demand for this most useful of all fruits, even where no 
machinery has been erected for the preparation of its products, is 
unlimited. The disease which destroyed the cocoanut tree in some 
West Indian islands, is unknown here. Within the last three or four 
years cocoanut trees have been planted, especially on the north side 
of the island, more extensively than ever before. 

In Trinidad great attention has of late years been given to cocoa- 
nut production. In 1863 and 1864 only 250,000 were shipped 
annually, but in 1876 the number had risen to over 4,500,000. The 
value of the export is now over 18,000Z. The civilized world of 
the temperate zone can absorb all the oil and fibre the tropics are 
likely to send for generations to come, however great the supply. 
The trees are always in bearing, but we learn that in some quarters 
at least, the Trinidad planters confine themselves to three great re- 
gular pluckings, at four months apart — namely, in April, August, and 
December. The cultivation is extending on the shores of the colony. 

The value of the cocoanuts and cocoanut fibre exported from 
Trinidad in 1871 was estimated at 8732Z. against 2863Z. in 1870. 
The cocoanut can be grown in unlimited quantities on the eastern 
coast of the island, where two factories have been established for some 
time for the preparation of oil and fibre. The difiiculties of pro- 
curing labour in that remote part of the island, and of shipping the 
produce on an exposed coast, have hitherto retarded the commercial suc- 
cess of these establishments ; but if these difficulties can be overcome, 
a large extension may be given to this branch of colonial industry. 

There is a considerable demand for cocoanuts in the United States, 
but then the American captains require them to be delivered husked, 
and that they be large and spherical. Cocoanuts can be had in Tri- 
nidad at 10 to 13 dollars a thousand; in Jamaica they sell at 18 
dollars, and in Central America at 25 dollars. A Trinidad paper well 
remarks that " as the fibre could be so readily utilized in the States, 
it is rather singular the traders do not oJBfer to buy the nuts, as picked, 
at the low rates current in these islands, and husk and sort them 
after arrival in America, selling the large handsome nuts to the first- 
class fruiterers, confectioners, and grocers ; the smaller nuts to the 
street seller, and the husk to the mat, mattress, and brushmaker, the 
rancid nuts, if any, going to the soap-boiler. There is good reason to 
believe we grow a goodly proportion of lusty, handsome nuts, having 
firist-class soils for the tree, an equatorial climate and prolific bearers. 
Planting is always extending, at Mayaro, Icacos, Irois, Carenage, 
and other places, leaving many virgin beaches, along which, sooner 
or later, they will be dotted. We have at least as good conditions 
for producing prime nuts as any colony in these seas." 



THE AFRICAN OIL PALM. 



245 



The African Oil Palm (Elms guineensis, Lin.) is, after tlie cocoa- 
nut palm, one of the most important in a commercial point of view, 
since it furnishes to British commerce about 60,000 tons of oil 
annually, of the value of one and a half to one and three-quarters of a 
million sterling, besides the quantity locally consumed as food in 
Africa, and sent to other countries. It is distinguished by its 
decumbent trunk, and bears clusters of one-seeded fruits (drupes), 
with oily husks of a bright vermilion or a more or less yellow colour. 
The range of this palm is not as yet well defined, but aj)pears to 
extend from the coast of Guinea to the south of Fernando Po, and 
grows as far up in the interior as Zheru, a distance of 400 miles from 
the sea, or the mouth of the Min, one of the embouchures of the Niger. 

Captain Burton, in his ' Lake Regions of Central Africa,' states that 
this palm is known by the Arabs to grow in the islands of Zanzibar 
and Pemba, and more rarely in the mountains of Usagona. It springs 
up apparently uncultivated in large dark groves on the shores of the 
Tanganyika, where it hugs the margin, rarely growing at any distance 
inland. This fine palm, he adds, is also tapped, as the date palm is 
in Western India, for toddy, and the cheapness of this timbo — the 
sura of Western Africa — accounts for the prevalence of intoxication, 
and the consequent demoralization of the Lake tribes. 

The principal ports in the Bight of Benin from which palm oil is 
exported are, Badagry, Porto Novo, Whydah, Aliquah, Lagos, and 
Palmas. 

Palm oil is exported from the following rivers : Brass, New Cala- 
bar, Bonny, Old Calabar, Bemba, Cameroons, and also from Fernando 
Po. Independent of these, in the rivers Malunba, Boreah, and Kampo 
palm oil is brought by coasting vessels. Bonny supplies the largest 
amount of palm oil that is brought from any river in West Africa. 

The process of extracting the oil is simple. The clusters or 
branches of fruit, which contain perhaps as many as 4000, are gathered 
by the men, and thrown indiscriminately into a trench or pit, and so 
left until they become somewhat decayed. The fruit is afterwards 
pounded in a mortar to loosen the husky fibre covering the nut. This 
done, they are placed in large clay vats filled with water, and two or 
three women tread out the semi-liquid oil, which comes to the surface 
as disengaged from the fibre, when it is collected and boiled to get rid 
of the water. The inner surface of these clay vats having at first 
absorbed a small quantity of oil, is not afterwards affected either by 
the water or oil. The oil is collected in pots, containing from three 
to twenty gallons. 

M. Boussingalt has shown, from information collected,* that the 
average production of oil from palms is at the rate of 900 kilos, per 
hectare, that is to say, superior by a third to the production of oil 
from the olive in the south of Europe. 

This vegetable fat is stated by A. C. Oudemans, jun., to have 
the following remarkable composition : stearin, palmitin, myristin, 
laurein, elain, caprin, caproin, and caprylin. It is used with the other 
solid fats for making soap and candles, and for railway grease. The 
price of the oil at the close of 1876 was 41Z. per ton. The enormous 
* ' Economie Rurale,' t. i. p. 350. 



246 



THE AFEICAN OIL PALM. 



progress that lias been made in the commerce in this article is shown 
by comparing the imports of 1840 with those of the last six years, 
which have averaged one million hundredweights, and this is only 
the British imports. 

Cwts. Cwts, 

1840 315,504 1870 868,270 

^ 1850 447,797 1875 904,562 

1860 804,326 

Marseilles also receives about 1000 tons, and the United States 
some quantity. 

The oil rivers of Biafra and Benin extend over 800 miles of coast, 
and include the island of Fernando Po. The chief exports consist of 
palm oil and palm kernels. 

In 1872 the number of British traders was t^^^enty-four, and 
there were two foreign. Those twenty-six palm-oil traders have fifty- 
five trading establishments in seven rivers, and employ 207 white 
agents, clerks, &c., 419 blacks, and 2000 kroomen. The Fernando Po 
oil crop never exceeds 400 tons a year, and yet from the number of 
oil palms there at least 4000 tons might be obtained, but the 25,000 
aborigines do not care to produce more. More oil palms might be 
grown, for ihere is abundance of room for them in the oil district, 
though it is but a mere fringe of the African continent. But the 
natives never think of planting oil palms. The river chiefs, now oil 
brokers, were slave brokers formerly. 

The following table gives the quantity of palm oil imported into 
the United Kingdom for a series of years : 





Cwts. 




Cwts. 


1840 


,, 315,504 


1859 , , 


685,794 


1841 ., . 


402,126 


1860 ,. 


804,326 
740,332 


1842 .. . 


.. 424,242 


1861 , 






1862 , , 


865,890 


1844 ,. . 


. 414,648 
.. 505,704 


1863 , 


790,224 


1845 ,. . 


1864 ,, 


666,582 
798,724 


1846 , . 


,, 366,853 


1865 


1847 


476,301 


1866 


799,210 
812,080 


1848 .. . 


510,218 


1867 .. 


1849 .. . 


493,831 


1868 ,, 


900,059 


1850 .. . 


,. 447,797 


1869 


814,520 


1851 , , 


608,550 


1870 .. 


, , 868,270 


1852 , . 


,, 523,813 


1871 .. 


,. 1,047,882 






1872 .. , 


,, 1,006,497 


1854 ,. . 


,, 752,618 


1873 ,. 


,. 1,017,947 


1855 .. . 


.. 810,394 


1874 .. . 


. .. 1,067,767 


1856 , , 


786,701 


1875 .. . 


904,562 
, .. 864,472 


1857 


,. 854,791 


1876 , 









Palm-hernel Oil. — The kernels, with the exception of an insig- 
nificant quantity used for the manufacture of oil for domestic purposes 
in Africa, were formerly thrown away. Attention was first drawn to 
their utilization in Liberia. Within the last fifteen years they have 
been more generally collected and employed. The shell being broken, 
the kernels are shipj)ed to be pressed for oil, &c. Vast extension of 
the African trade has arisen out of this new article of export. 



TEE AFRICAN OIL PALM. 



247 



It has been estimated by competent authorities that from the 
50,000 tons of palm oil shipped there must be 10,000,000 bushels of 
kernels, equal to 223,000 tons in weight. The average yield from 
these kernels being about 30 per cent., if all were utilized this would 
furnish 76,000 tons more of oil, worth at the price of cocoanut oil 
(which it closely resembles) about 2,700,000?. If we add to this the 
value of the oilcake, 112,000 tons at 61. per ton, we should have a 
very large increase to the value of the oil-palm trade with Western 
Africa. 

Palm-nut oil is obtained on the coast from the seed or kernel, 
by roasting, beating, and boiling. In Liberia, on a small scale, a 
bushel of kernels was found to yield two gallons of oil, but with good 
presses a very much larger yield than this is obtained. 

The palm kernels are quoted in London, January, 1877, at 121. 10s. 
to 11/. per ton. The kernel, which is nearly white, is covered by a 
thin brownish layer of woody fibre, and in consequence of this the palm- 
nut meal has a light-brown or dirt-coloured appearance. The size of 
the kernels varies from that of a hazel nut to that of a small pigeon's 
egg. They are very hard, nearly inodorous, rather insipid to the 
taste, and extremely rich in fatty matter, possessing the consistency of 
butter, with the useful property of not readily tui'ning rancid. The 
extraction of the oil necessitates tlie reduction of the kernels into a 
tolerably fine powder, and the application of powerful crushing 
machinery and gentle heat. Notwithstanding these means, the cake 
or meal left in presses contains usually a larger proportion of fat than 
is found in most other kinds of oilcake. It surpasses all other articles 
of cattle food in its theoretical value as a fat producer, as the fol- 
lowing analysis by Dr. Voelcker will show. In the best linseed 
cake the percentage of oil rarely amounts to 12 per cent., indeed 
10 per cent, may be taken as a fair average : 



Moisture 7-49 

Fatty matters 26 '57 

Albuminous compounds * (flesh-forming matters) . . 15-75 

Starch, mucihige, sugar, and digestible fibre 37*89 

Woody fibre (ceUulose) 8-40 

Mineral matters (ash) 3-90 



Total 100- 



* Containing nitrogen, 2 '52. 

In' 1863 the palm-kernel trade, then newly introduced, furnished 
2665 tons of kernels from Lagos. The progress that has been made 
since is shown by the following figures : 





Tons. 




Tons. 


1SG5 ,. . 


,. 2,631 


1870 


, ., 15,894 


1866 , . . 


. 7,216 


1871 , 




1867 .. . 


. .. 13,619 


1872 , , 


, ,, 16,870 






1873 


16,410 


1869 .. . 


, 20,394 


1874 . . . 


. 25,192 



The value of the palm kernels now shipped from this single port 
averages nearly 300,000Z., or double that of the palm oil ; and of 
those shipped from the Gold Coast in the two years ending 1870 was 



248 



THE GOMUTI PALM. 



60,916Z. From Sierra Leone there were also shipped in 1870, 110,243 
tons and 2502 bushels of palm kernels. 

The Gomuti Palm (Arenga saccTiarifera, Lab. ; Saguerus Bumphii, 
Roxb. ; Borassus Gomutus, Lom\, Gomutus saccharifera, Spr.) is one of 
the most useful palms, and occurs in a wild state throughout the 
islands of the Indian Archipelago, but is more common in the in- 
terior, principally in the hilly districts, than on the sea-coast, and is 
also very generally cultivated by the various people who inhabit that 
region. This palm attains a height of thirty or forty feet, and besides 
its saccharine sap furnishes a highly valuable black fibrous sub- 
stance, Ejoo fibre, superior in quality, cheapness, and durability to 
that obtained from the husk of the cocoanut, and renowned for its 
power of resisting wet. It is used by the natives of the Indian 
islands for every purpose of cordage, domestic and naval. Under- 
neath this material is found a substance of a soft gossamer - like 
texture, which is imported into China. It is applied as oakum in 
caulking the seams of ships, and more generally as tinder for kindling 
fire ; it is for the latter purpose that it is chiefly in request among the 
Chinese. 

The principal production of this palm is the toddy (from the San- 
scrit Tdde), which is obtained according to Crawfurd in the following 
manner : One of the spadices is on the first appearance of fruit beaten 
on three successive days with a small stick, with the view of deter- 
mining the sap to the wounded part. The spadix is then cut a 
little way from its root (base), and the liquor which pours out is 
received in pots of earthenware, in bamboos, or other vessels. The 
Gomuti palm is fit to yield toddy when nine or ten years old, and 
continues to yield it for two years, at the average rate of three 
quarts a day. 

When newly drawn the liquor is clear, and in taste resembles fresh 
must. In a very short time it becomes tm-bid, whitish, and some- 
what acid, and quickly runs into the vinous fermentation, acquiring 
an intoxicating quality. In this state great quantities are consumed ; 
a still larger quantity is applied to the purpose of yielding sugar. 
With this view the liquor is boiled to a syrup, and thrown out 
to cool in small vessels, the form of which it takes, and in this shape 
it is sold in the markets. This sugar is of a dark coloui* and greasy 
consistence, with a peculiar flavour ; it is the only sugar used by the 
native population. The wine of this palm is also used by the Chinese 
residing in the Indian islands in the preparation of the celebrated 
Batavian arrack. 

In Malacca, the Gomuti, there termed Kabong, is principally culti- 
vated for the juice which it yields for the manufacture of sugar. Like 
the cocoanut palm it comes into bearing after the seventh year. It 
produces two kinds of " mayams " or spadices, male and female. The 
female spadix yields fruit, but no juice, and the male vice versa. 
Some trees will produce five or six female spadices before they yield 
a single male one, and such trees are considered unprofitable by the 
toddy collectors ; but it is said that in this case they yield sago equal 
in quality, though not in quantity, to the Cycas circinnalis, though it is 



THE GOMUTI PALM. 



249 



not always put to such a requisition by the natives ; others will pro- 
duce only one or two female spadices, and the rest male, from each of 
which the quantity of juice extracted is the same as that obtained 
from the cocoanut spadices. A single tree will yield in one day 
sufficient juice for the manufacture of five bundles of jaggery, valued 
at two cents each. The number of mayams shooting out at any 
one time may be averaged at two, although three is not an uncommon 
case. When other occupation or sickness prevents the owner from 
manufacturing jaggery, the juice is put into a jar, where in a few 
days it is converted into excellent vinegar, equal in strength to that 
produced by the vinous fermentation of Europe. Each mayara 
will yield toddy for at least three months, often for five, and fresh 
mayams make their appearance before the old ones are exhausted ; 
in this way a tree is kept in a state of productiveness for a number 
of years, the first mayam opening at the top of the stem, the next 
lower down, and so on, until at last it yields one at the bottom of the 
trunk, with which the tree terminates its existence. 

Dr. J„ E. de Vry states, that although the natives in Java" extract it 
by a very rude and entirely primitive^mode, this palm contains a great 
proportion of cane sugar. He thus describes the process, which 
differs little from that pursued for obtaining sap and sugar from 
other palms. 

" As soon as the palm begins to blossom, they cut off the part of the 
stem that bears the flower ; there flows from the cut a sap containing 
sugar, which they collect in tubes made of bamboo cane, previously 
exposed to smoke, in order to prevent the fermentation of the juice, 
which, without this precaution, would take place very quickly under 
the double influence of the heat of the climate and the presence of 
a nitrogenous matter. 

" The juice thus obtained is immediately poured into shallow iron 
basins, heated by fire, and is thickened by evaporation, till a drop 
falling on a cold surface solidifies ; this degree of concentration at- 
tained, the contents of the kettle are put in forms or great prismatic 
lozenges. Several thousand pounds of sugar are thus obtained yearly. 
I have collected some of the sap in a clean glass bottle, and I found that 
the unaltered juice does not contain any glucose, but a nitrogenous 
matter, which, by the heat of the climate, quickly converts a part of 
the cane sugar into glucose. In order to prove, without employing any 
artificial means, that the juice exuding from the tree contains pure 
cane sugar, I collected a sample directly in alcohol ; the nitrogenous 
principle is thus eliminated by coagulation ; a mixture of equal parts 
of juice and alcohol has been, after filtration, evaporated on the sand- 
bath to the consistence of syrup. I brought this syrup with me on 
returning from Java ; and during the voyage it became solid, pre- 
senting very fine and well-defined crystals of cane sugar, imme- 
diately recognized as such by all the experts. At the Congress of 
Giessen, I spoke of the preparation of sugar from palms as the only 
rational mode of obtaining sugar in the future, basing my opinion on 
the following grounds: Sugar, by itself, being only composed, in a 
state of purity, of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, does not take 
anything from the soil; but the plants now mainly cultivated for 



250 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



extracting sugar, viz. the Beta vulgaris and tlie Saccharum officinarum, 
require for their development a great amount of substances from the 
soil in which they grow, whence it follows that their culture exhausts 
the soil. But this is not the only evil ; what is worse is, that the 
space now occupied by beetroots in Europe, and by sugar-cane 
between the tropics, might and ought to serve for the culture of 
wheat or of forage in Europe, and for rice under the tropics ; and it 
is my opinion that, considering the increase of population, the 
time is not far distant when it mil be absolutely necessary to devote 
to the culture of wheat or rice the lands now employed for beetroot 
or cane. While the cane and beetroot require a soil fit for cereals, 
the Aren palm prospers on soils entirely unfit for their culture, so 
unfit, indeed, that one might try in vain to grow on them rice or 
cereals ; the Aren palm thrives in the profound valleys of Java, and 
in some parts of the island extends from the shores of the sea to the 
interior, where the tree is found in groups, and it is very possible to 
make rich plantations of that fine tree. There is one drawback, but 
not a very serious one ; the tree must be eleven or twelve years old 
before it will yield sugar. When, however, it commences, the opera- 
tion can be repeated during several years, and the preparation of the 
sugar becomes a continuous industry, and not an interrupted one, as 
it is now. According to my average, a field of thirty ares (J acre) 
planted with those trees should produce yearly 2400 kilogrammes 
of sugar in a soil quite unfit for any other kind of culture." 

Like the true sago palm, the Gomuti affords a medullary matter 
from which a farina is prepared. In Java it is the only source of 
this substance, which in the western and poorer part of the island is 
used in considerable quantity and offered for sale in all the markets. 
It is smaller in quantity than the pith of the true sago tree, more 
difficult to extract, and inferior in quality ; having a certain peculiar 
flavour from which the farina of the true sago is free. Dr. Rox- 
burgh observes, " I cannot avoid recommending to everyone who 
possesses land in India, particularly such as is low and near the coasts, 
to extend the cultivation of this useful and elegant palm as much as 
possible. The wine itself and the sugar it yields, the black fibres for 
cables and cordages, and the pith for sago, independent of many other 
uses, are objects of very great importance. From observations made 
in the Botanic Garden at Calcutta, well- grown thriving trees produce 
about six leaves annually, and each leaf yields from 8 to 16 ounces 
of the clean fibre. They are in blossom all the year ; one lately cut 
down yielded about 150 lbs. of good sago meal." 

The interior of the small fruit are prepared and extensively used 
as sweetmeats by the Chinese in Sumatra. 

The Wild Date Palm or India. — The following paper, on " The 
Manufacture'of Date Sugar," is by Mr. S. H. Robinson, of Calcutta. 

Phoenix, the genus to which the date palm belongs, comprises nine 
known species, of which six are indigenous in India, and are distin- 
guished as: 1, acaulis ; 2, dactylifera; 3, imsilla ; 4, farinifera ; 5, 
sylvestris ; 6, paludosa. Of these No. 4 produces sago of an inferior 
quality ; and the leaves of all the species furnish materials for mats 



THE WILD PATE PALM OF INDIA. 



251 



or thatch for houses. The sugar-yielding variety, Phoenix sylvestris, 
is known as the wild date of Bengal. Phoenix dactylifera is the name 
given to the true date palm of Arabia and Africa ; but as it appears 
to be undistinguishable from the Bengal variety, except in size and 
vigour of growth, there seems little doubt that any apparent difference 
is due only to superior cultivation and variety of climate or soil, and to 
its being always a cultivated tree in Bengal ; the specific name sylvestris 
may have been originally given, owing to its inferiority in size to the 
African or Arabian tree, with which European botanists were more 
early familiar. 

The date palm, when not stunted in its growth by extraction of its 
juice for sugar, is a very handsome tree, rising in Bengal to from thirty 
to forty feet in height, with a dense crown of leaves spreading in a 
hemispherical form from its summit. These leaves are from ten to 
fifteen feet long, and composed of numerous leaflets or pinnules about 
eighteen inches long. The trunk is rough, from the adherence of the 
bases of the falling leaves, which serves to distinguish it at a glance 
from the smooth-trunked cocoanut palm, which in its leaves only it. 
resembles. Like all of the Phoenix genus the trees are dioecious, and 
the fruit hangs in dense bunches from the centre of the crown of the 
female tree ; it flowers about April or May, and the fruit ripens in 
July or August ; the latter is, however, of a very inferior description 
in Bengal, and is seldom gathered except for seed, from which the 
young trees are raised. The fruit, indeed, consists more of seed than 
of pulp, and altogether is only about one-fourth the size of the Arabian 
kind brought annually to Calcutta for sale, and, when fresh imported, a 
rich and favourite fruit there. This inferiority of the Bengal fruit may 
no doubt be attributed to the entire neglect of its improvement there 
from time immemorial, and, perhaps, in some measure to the practice 
of tapping the trees for their sap, so universally followed in the 
districts around Calcutta, its principal range of growth. 

The date tree is met with in almost every part of Bengal Proper, 
but it flourishes most congenially, and is found plentifully only in 
the alluvial soils which cover its south-eastern portion, excepting 
only such tracts as suffer entire submersion annually from the over- 
flow of the rivers, as is common in portions of the Dacca, Mymunsing, 
and Sunderbund districts. The extent of country best suited for its 
growth, and over which it is found most plentifully as above indicated, 
may therefore be taken as within an area stretching east and west 
about 200 miles, and north and south about 100 miles, and compre- 
hending by a rough estimate about 9000 square miles — within an 
irregular triangular space. 

The practice of extracting its juice, however, for the production of 
sugar, extends at present over a much smaller area, probably not 
more than two-thirds of the above-described space ; and if we con- 
sider further, how small a portion of these favourite date districts are 
as yet occupied by date tree cultivation, the room for its future 
extension, even if confined to these tracts alone, appears a wide one 
indeed. If we trace an irregular parallelogram, stretching eastward 
from Kishengunge, in the Nuddea district, to Backergunge, and from 
Mahduppore, in Furrcedpore district southward to the borders of the 



252 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



Sunderbunds, we shall find a space of about 100 miles long, by 80 
broad, and comprebending tbe district of Jessore, witb portions of 
Furreedpore, Nuddea, and Burrisaul, to wbicb the product of date 
sugar is mainly confined, although the goor — or the first raw produce 
made by boiling down the juice — is found commonly manufactured 
for native consumption on the spot, in many localities situated beyond 
these assumed limits. 

Throughout the present date tract, the quantity and quality of the 
sugar produced vary considerably. The high and dry lands of parts 
of Kishnaghur and Pubna yield a strong well-crystallized product, 
though less in quantity than from trees of the Jessore and Sunder- 
bunds soils ; in which, -with a more rapid growth of the tree and a 
greater flow of sap, a less rich, though still good and grainy sugar is 
produced. The cultivation in these districts is accompanied by a 
great advantage, in the cheap and abundant sujijjly of fuel for boiling 
the juice and refining the sugar ; and there is probably no part of 
Bengal where the cultivation may be extended, with more profit than 
in the more elevated lands of the Sunderbund grants. 

The young plants are raised from seed sown during the rains, and 
are ready for planting out in the following April or May, after the 
first showers of the season have moistened the ground sufficiently. 
Before the date sugars became important as a staple for export, and 
the cultivation extended, the trees were seldom seen planted elsewhere 
than along the hedge-rows or boundaries of the fields, or on other 
spots where they did not interfere with the growth of cereals or other 
field crops. Gradually as date produce became more valuable, sys- 
tematic plantations appeared, and fields were set with trees ten and 
fifteen feet apart, but without much regard to order or regularity of 
distance. After planting, no manuring or further expense was in- 
curred, except, perhaps, in supplying fresh plants in place of those 
destroyed by cattle. 

The spaces between the trees are generally occupied by oil-seeds or 
other dry-weather crops, and thus the cost of a native plantation is 
reduced, whilst the trees benefit by the ploughing, which loosens the 
earth, and the ground is kept free from weeds. 

At the expiry of the fifth year from the planting of the young tree 
in the field, it is ready to be tapped for its juice. This is the average 
time allowed, though it may be varied a year sooner or later by the 
diflerence of soil and climate. The first year a young tree is tapped, 
it is reckoned to yield only half the usual quantity of juice produced 
by a full-grown tree ; in the second year of tapping it is reckoned to 
yield three-fourths of full average quantity ; and it is not till the 
third year of bearing that it is considered as in full yield. 

The process of tapping and extracting the juice commences about 
the 1st of November. Some days previously the lower leaves of the 
crown are stripped off all round, and a few extra leaves from the side 
of the tree intended to be tapped. On the part thus denuded a 
triangular incision is made with a knife about an inch deep, so as to 
penetrate through the cortex, and divide the sap vessels ; each side 
of the triangle measuring about six inches, with one point downwards, 
in which is inserted a piece of grooved bamboo, along which the sap 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



253 



trickles, and from thence drops into an earthen pot suspended under- 
neath it by a string. The pots are suspended in the evening, and 
removed very early the following morning, ere the sun has sufficient 
power to warm the juice, which would cause it immediately to ferment, 
and destroy its quality of crystallizing into sugar. 

A plantation is always divided by the cultivator into seven equal 
sections, and one such section is tapped daily. The cutting is made in 
the afternoon, and the pot suspended as above mentioned. Next morning 
the pot is found to contain, from a full-grown tree, ten seers of juice, the 
second morning four seers, and the third morning two seers of juice 
(the seer is about 2 lbs.) ; the quantity exuding afterwards is so small, 
that no pot is suspended for the next four days. On the evening of the 
seventh day it again comes to the turn of this section of trees to be 
cut, which is effected by a thin slice being pared from the triangular 
face, which, by again dividing the sap vessels, causes the juice to flow 
afresh as at first. Each section is thus cut in succession, and the 
process is repeated throughout the goor season, which usually ter- 
minates about the 15th of February, after which the heat of the 
weather causes the juice to ferment so rapidly, that it is no more 
convertible into sugar, and consequently not worth the labour of 
extraction and evaporation of its water, as molasses only would be 
the product. Juice produced during the day-time of the cold season 
is of similar quality, and for the same reason is allowed to run to 
waste. 

Daily at sunrise, throughout the goor season, the industrious ryot 
may be seen climbing his trees, and collecting at a convenient spot 
beneath them the earthen pots containing the juice yielded during 
the past night. Under a rude shed, covered with the leaves of the 
date tree itself, and erected under the shade of the plantation, is pre- 
pared the boiling apparatus to serve for the goor season. It con- 
sists of a hole of about three feet in diameter sunk two feet in the 
ground, over which are supported by mud arches, four thin earthen 
pans of a semi-globular shape, and eighteen inches in diameter ; the 
hole itself is the furnace, and has two apertures on opposite sides 
for feeding in the fuel, and for escape of the smoke. The fire is lit 
as soon as the juice is collected, and poured into the four pans, which 
are kept constantly supplied with fresh juice as the water evaporates, 
until the whole produce of the morning is boiled down to the required 
density. As the contents of each pan become sufficiently boiled, 
they are ladled out into other earthen pots or jars, of various sizes, 
from five to twenty seers of contents, according to local custom, and 
in these the boiled extract cools, crystallizes into a hard compound of 
granulated sugar and molasses, and is brought to market for sale as 
goor. 

The subsequent processes by which the goor is deprived more or 
less of its molasses and impurities, and the drier, and more merchant- 
able kinds of sugar are prepared for market, will now be briefly 
described. These processes are always conducted by a distinct class 
of operators, who purchase the goor from the cultivators, and bring 
it to various stages of purity and dryness under different denomina- 
tions. 



254 



THE WILD DATE PALM OP INDIA. 



1st. Khaur is made by filling the goor into coarse sacks or gunny 
bags, and pressing them between bamboos lasted together, or beneath 
heavy weights, nntil 30 or 40 per cent, of the entire weight is forced 
out in the shape of molasses. The residue is then mixed, packed in 
clean bags, and is ready for sale. 

2nd. Fine khaur or nimphool is' made by repeating the above 
process for making khaur ; the only difference being that the khaur 
is sprinkled and mixed with water before subjecting it to the second 
packing and pressure. This causes a further portion of the molasses to 
be washed out and separated from the mass, and the product is lighter 
coloured and finer than the khaur, and about 50 per cent, only of 
the original weight of goor remains. A third application of the same 
process is sometimes resorted to, which carries away another 5 per 
cent, of the original weight, and leaves a residue still drier and 
lighter coloured than the ordinary nimphool. 

In all nimphool and khaur sugars, however, a certain portion of 
water or moisture remains, it being never subjected to any sun- 
drying or other process for evaporating the water, and this renders 
it liable to deliquesce and sweat through the bags in which it is 
usually packed. This is specially the case in damp weather, and loss 
of colour and acidity follow in a few weeks. 

3rd. Dullooah, or doloo, is made by filling the goor into round 
baskets or conical earthen vessels, holding two or three maunds each. 
The baskets being of an open fabric, and the cones made with a hole 
at the apex, the molasses drains from the goor into a vessel placed 
beneath, the process being encouraged by a stratum of three or four 
inches thick of a wet grass or aquatic weed called " seala " placed on 
the surface of the goor. The moisture from this attenuates the 
molasses in the goor, and assists the draining. As soon as the weed 
is dry it is removed, and the upper stratum of the goor, now deprived 
of its molasses, is scraped off with a knife to the depth of two or three 
inches; and a fresh top of seala or wet weed is applied. When 
dry, a fui-ther portion of sugar is cut off as before, and this is re- 
peated until the basket or cone is emptied. The sugar, as scraped off, 
is exposed in the sun on mats to dry, and is then mixed and packed 
for sale ; and is, when well made, a dry, light, sand-coloured dullooah. 
Thirty to forty per cent, of produce, varying with the quality of the 
goor, is made in this way fi^om a given quantity of the latter. The 
resulting molasses having by the operation of the weed a small por- 
tion of the sugar crystal melted with it, is subjected to a boiling to 
evaporate the water, and an inferior, weak-grained, and dark-coloured 
goor is the result. This is again subjected to the weed-draining as 
before, and a further portion of 10 to 15 per cent, weight of the 
original goor is obtained. DuUooahs, if well dried before being 
packed, may be kept without deteriorating for several months if the 
weather be dry ; but they always imbibe moisture, and sustain con- 
sequent injury from the damp air of the rainy season in Bengal. 

4th. Pucka Cheenee, or gurpatta, is the native refined sugar, made 
by subjecting khaur to a process somewhat resembling that of the 
English refiner. The khaur is melted in water to the consistency of 
thin syrup, which is then placed over a fire in an earthen pan, and 



THE WILD DATE PALM OP INDIA. 



255 



brought to boiling point, the defecation being assisted by potash 
temper and sprinkling in of cold water. After skimming, it is filtered 
through a cotton cloth, and the clarified syrup boiled briskly until 
the water is evaporated to such a degree as to allow the sugar to 
form a hard crystal as it cools. It is then poured into an earthen 
cone, and, when cold, the plug is withdrawn, and the syrup allowed to 
drain from it, assisted, as in the dullooah process, by the application 
of the damp weed or seala. As it becomes whitened by the latter, it 
is scraped off, sun-dried, and packed for sale. The syrup, as it col- 
lects from the cones, is boiled up with fresh goor, and produces, by 
the same process, an inferior or second quality of gurpatta; the 
syrups of the latter are once more boiled alone, and produce a still 
inferior weak and reddish sugar, called by the manufacturers 
" jerunnee," which is literally "lasts." Gurpatta, if well made, and 
pure from mixture of other kinds, is of a bright and clean aspect, fine 
and dry ; and, if protected from the weather, w^ill keep without injury 
throughout the rainy season. The ordinary yield of gurpatta from 
three maunds (40 seers each) of good goor is reckoned as follows : 

Mds. srs. 



First or white gurpatta 20 

Inferior or mixed ditto 10 

Syrup or jerunnee 10 

Molasses .. .. 1 28 

Loss 12 



Total 3 



5th. Dobarah is a quality superior to gurpatta, being a good white, 
dry, and well-crystallized sugar. The process is similar to that of 
the gurpatta ; but the material used being dullooah instead of khaur, a 
purer sugar is obtained, which much resembles the crushed refined 
sugar of the European refiner. 

The following further details are given by Babu Eamshunker, Sen, 
Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector, Jessore : 

After all that has been written on this subject by Colonel Gastrell 
in his Statistical Eeport, dated 1868, and by Mr. Westland in his 
account of Jessore, dated 1870, very little remains to be said on this 
most important branch of native industry ; but still, as my investiga- 
tions were directed towards the ascertainment of the present state of 
date cultivation and the manufacture of sugar from the juice of the 
tree, I shall attempt to record the results of these inquiries. 

In May and June seeds are gathered from under old date trees and 
sown broadcast in a nursery near enough to the ryot's house. They 
sprout forth within fifteen to thirty days, and sooner if there is an 
intervening downpour. The seedlings are then fenced round in order 
to save the tender leaves from the bite of the goat or cattle. As soon 
as two leaves appear a weeding begins, which is kept up twice in the 
year as long as the plants continue in the nursery for two or three 
years. After this term, when the rains begin to fall copiously, they 
are transplanted into an open garden, which is prepared by four or 
five ploughings and manured with sweepings and cowdung. A high 
and rich ground is always preferred ; but soils which are of a mixed 



256 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



nature and easily yield to the plough, are better adapted than the low 
and saline. 

The trees are planted in even rows seven or eight cubits apart in 
order to allow sufficient space for intermediate ventilation and the 
turning of the plough and ladder within the intervening space. The 
ground is ploughed, and the soil around the tree is turned up with the 
spade twice a year, as otherwise the overgrowth of the straw grass 
(ulu) chokes up and kills the tender plants. The side leaves of the 
plant are cut off every year in winter for the convenience of culti- 
vating the gardens with cold- weather crops, which are generally sown 
therein as long as the plants are young and their leaves short ; but 
when they have spread out so much as to obstruct heat and light, the 
cultivation of other crops is put off. The raising of these crops in the 
date gardens, instead of interfering with the trees, is rather conducive 
to their growth, as the soil is kept clean thereby and ulu grass (Sac- 
charum cylindricum) kept back. In gardens where the trees are wide 
apart, the aus dhan is cultivated, and an average crop is always 
obtained. 

Inundations injure the trees when they are young ; for if the water 
rises high, it deposits its loam on the tender head leaves, and thus 
suffocates the plant to death. The fouler and higher the water, the 
greater is the danger to the date tree. Young and robust trees 
escape storms and cyclones scatheless, but the tall ones are many a 
time and oft pressed down by the force of the wind, and although not 
quite uprooted, placed permanently in a slanting position. There is 
a kind of larva called maira or hora, which destroys the plant in 
large numbers by boring out the heads and eating up the top leaves. 

When seven or eight years of age, the tree is fit for yielding the 
sap. Ordinarily the east or west side of the tree, being better exposed 
to the influence of the sun, is chosen for tapping ; but in some cases 
the north and south sides are also taken up if more convenient for the 
purpose of ascent and descent. The position and bend of the tree, 
as well as its accessibility to the climber, determine the side on which 
the first cutting is to be made. If it stands at an acute angle with the 
surface of the soil, the side uppermost is subjected to the paring 
knife. Sometimes a tree in which the first parings were east and west 
has its subsequent cuttings gradually brought round to north and 
south, if it has been beaten down by a cyclone. The tapping con- 
tinues on from year to year until the head of the tree presents a 
withered and half-dead appearance. In three trees I counted as many 
as forty-two, forty-three, and forty-four alternate notches, thus show- 
ing that they had been continually tapped for those long series of 
years, and they appeared still capable of being subjected to that pro- 
cess for two or three years more. When on these high and tall trees 
the head is no longer erect in position, the tapping must cease. 

The implements used in cutting the tree are (1) the gachua dao, 
a sharp and broad instrument with which the paring is made ; (2) the 
holach or goatskin cover which the gacM or cutter fits to his waist in 
order to prevent friction of the rope, (3), called dara, with which he 
attaches himself to the tree as he climbs up ; (4) the tliungi or narrow 
wicker basket hanging from his waist like a quiver and intended to 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



257 



hold the dao and nullies ; (5) the ahra or hook, on which the juice pot 
is hung when he gets up and down the tree with it. 

Besides the cluster of date trees in and around a ryot's tenement, 
large open gardens occupying broad areas of land are planted with 
them. Sometimes they are planted along hedges and the boundary 
ridges of fields. The tract of country south and west of the Naba- 
gunga abounds with large date gardens, particularly the line of 
country west of Magurah, where the land gradually rises higher and 
higher as we approach the confines of the Nuddea district. 

South and west of Jhenidah the country may be said to be bristling 
with date trees planted in square plots of ten or fifteen beegahs, and 
these increase in number as we come nearer and nearer to the 
Kabadak. The line north of the Kumar, being subject to inundation, 
is not a well-planted date tract, the sugar-cane also having retained 
its hold there to some extent. 

In October the side of the tree chosen for tapping is cleared of the 
leaves, and the bark just below the head is cut into, so as to form an 
oblong bare surface 15 inches by 12 inches, in proportion to the cir- 
cumference of the tree. After a week, when this surface is perfectly 
dry, its upper part is skilfully pared off, till the white and softer 
wood becomes visible. An indenture is then made in the lower part 
of the pared-off surface, along the sides of what appears to be an 
obtuse angle, with the angular point turned downwards. An inch 
below this point a split bamboo twig, seven or eight inches long, is 
inserted into the tree in order to conduct the sap into the juice pot as 
it oozes out of the white surfaces and passes in a thin slow stream 
through the two sides of the angle as it were through two drains. If 
there be not sufficient juice in the pared-off surface, it is left un- 
touched for a week and cut anew after its being well dried up. If the 
cut is deep before the surface is dry, the head of the tree pines away 
and the juice decreases in quantity. Careless insertion of the bamboo 
tube sometimes injures the young plant, which may cause its death. 

Date trees are divided into three classes, according to their age : 

(1) The comra or char a, or young plant, yielding from half to one 
and a half seer of sap in the first year, and two to three seers subse- 
quently per night. 

(2) The majhari, or middle-aged, called also uiit or nalgas — a tree 
in the full swing of its juice-yielding career, supplying seven to nine 
seers per night. 

(3) The hahni or daria, so named from its age and yielding its juice 
late in the season. 

The trees are also classed as male and female — the former, which 
bears no fruit, yielding the sap early in the season, being called 
chotna ; while the latter is called haron, bearing fruits and yielding 
the sap somewhat late. Middle-aged trees with robust heads yield 
the largest quantity of juice ; the age at which it arrives at maturity 
being five or six years after the first tapping. 

The trees of a date grove are divided into six portions (called palas) 
for the convenience of tapping them by turns, which goes on in the 
order described below. I should, however, mention here that the 
first night's juice is called jeeran^ which is richer in quality and 

s 



258 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



larger in quantity than that of subsequent nights, the second and 
third night's juice is called doliat (second cut) and telmt (third cut). 

Juice collected in the fourth night is called jJiurrah^ and the day 
juice is called ola. The colder the night, the more the yield of the 
tree. Foggy and cloudy nights, which serve to decrease the cold of 
the weather, tend to diminish the sap. High winds dry up the 
moisture of the surface, and rain washes it off and lessens the sweet- 
ness of the sap. I have not been able to ascertain if the influence of 
the moon has anything to do with its increase or decrease. 

Various artifices are resorted to in order to prevent thefts of the 
sap from juice pots, usually committed by boys at the commence- 
ment of the date season. The cutter puts slices of Tcacliari, a species 
of poisonous Arum, jpurmida, a nauseating leaf, and other pungent 
vegetables into the juice pots, in order to punish such night marauders 
who drink off the juice stealthily, and in the morning the cutter's 
clamorously abusive language towards the female relations of the 
young delinquents scares away the whole neighbourhood. 

Early every morning the cutter (gachi) and his mate (jklieri) go 
round from tree to tree, take down the pots, and collect the juice in 
order to be boiled down into goor (molasses). Boiling goes on in 
the date grove itself, or in some open space close by. A large stove 
called hain, with two to sixteen eyes, over which the boiling pans are 
placed, is fed by a strong fire. As the boiling goes on in earthen 
pans, the scum is taken off with a ladle formed out of a date branch, 
and green date leaves are put into the boiler in order to prevent 
overflowing. The bubbles which appear in the boiler mark the diffe- 
rent stages of boiling, they are styled respectively spider (makarslia) 
bubbles, mustard flower (sarsa fidi) bubbles, tiger (haghai) bubbles, 
and treacle (guria) bubbles, which last indicate that the process is 
nearly complete. The boiled juice is then tested by pouring down 
a stream from the ladle. If it drops slow and thick, the pan is taken 
off the fire, and a small quantity of the boiled juice is triturated into 
powder on the margin of the pan and mixed up with its contents, 
when they all granulate and coagulate into goor. This process is 
known as hijmara. 

There are three sorts of goor made from the date juice. 

(1) The patali^ or hard cake, which is used for local consumption, 
and sold at Ks. 2-8 to Es. 3 per maund. 

(2) Khan goor is the goor of commerce, called also nagree, locally 
consumed, but principally used in manufacturing sugar, sold at 
Es. 1-12 and Es. 2-2 per maund. 

(3) Ola goor, prepared from the date juice — syrupy and devoid of 
granules ; chiefly used in sweetening tobacco, and sold at ten or 
twelve annas per maund. It is sometimes mixed up with khan goor 
as an adulteration. 

Let us now see what is the actual produce of each tree, and the 
average income of the ryot from his date garden ; although on this 
point no two accounts agree. 

The tapping season generally extends from 5th Aghran (20th 
November) to 13th Falgun (22nd February), over one hundi-ed and 
ten days. From this we have to deduct foggy and cloudy nights. 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



259 



which may amount to ten in all during the season. The juice- 
yielding days amount therefore to fifty in all. 

Now counting according to the Bengali months, and taking the 
average produce month by month, as in the under-mentioned table, we 
find the yield of a full-grown tree to be — 

Seers. 

25 days of Aghran, at 2 seers per day 50 

29 „ Pous 5 „ 145 

30 „ Magh 8 „ 240 

15 „ Falgun 3 „ 45 

Total in ninety-nine days 480 

Or deducting the days of rest, we have for fifty days 240 seers, which 
is equal to 24 seers of goor, 10 seers of juice being capable of pro- 
ducing 1 seer of goor. The price of these 24 seers would equal 
Es. 1-3 and Es. 2 per maund. 

Another, and perhaps a more correct and safe way of calculation, is 
the following : 

There are 5 turns of tapping in Aghran, as rest is given to the tree 
for sis days after jeeran, which at 2 seers per turn would give 
only — 

10 seers of juice = 1 seer of goor, price 2 annas. 
In Pous 6 turns of jeeran at 5 seers yield 30 seers. 
6 turns of rubbed juice at 2 seers =12 seers. 

Total 42 seers of juice = 4J seers of goor ; price 3 annas 6 pie, at 

Es. 2-2 per maund. 
In Magh 6 turns of jeeran at 8 seers each turn yield 48 seers of 

juice. 

6 turns of dokat at 6 seers each turn yield 36 seers of juice. 
6 turns of rubbed (puccha) juice at 2 seers each turn yield 12 seers 
of juice. 

Total 96 seers of juice = 9J seers of goor ; price 7 annas 6 pie, 

at Es. 2 per maund. 
In Falgun 3 turns of jeeran at 3 seers each turn yield 9 seers of 

juice. 

3 turns of dokat at 2 seers each turn yield 6 seers of juice. 
3 turns of tekat at 1 seer each turn yield 3 seers of juice. 
18 seers of juice = 2 seers of goor • price 1 anna 3 pie. 
Total 17 seers of goor ; price 14 annas 3 pie. 

Taking contingencies into account, the yield of a good tree may 
fairly be estimated at 12 annas a year. Both Colonel Gastrell and 
Mr. "Westland calculate the average produce at 5 seers per tree, 
while the former makes the tapping nights sixty-five and the latter 
sixty-seven. My own calculation, counting the number of days from 
beginning to end, is fifty-five, without deducting foggy and cloudy 
nights. According to Colonel Gastrell's estimate the average yield 
of a tree is Es. 1-2-6, which is very near my first estimate. Mr. 
Westland's estimate of each tree yielding one maund of goor, valued 
at Es. 2 and 2-4, appears to me to be too high. Dr. Forbes Eoyle, in 
his work on ' The Fibrous Plants of India,' page 96, quoting from Dr. 
Eoxbui'gh, states that each date tree on an average yields one hundred 
and eighty pints of juice, of which every twelve pints are boiled down 
to one of goor or jagri, and four of goor yield one of good powder 

8 2 



260 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



sugar ; so tliat the average yield of each tree is seven or eight pounds 
of sugar annually. Now taking a pint to be equal to 1^ pow or 
Bengali liquid measure, each tree according to this calculation would 
appear to yield one maund and 27^ seers of juice ; and if 9 seers or 
24 pints produce three-fourths of a seer of goor, we have 5f seers of 
goor as the average yield of a tree, which ai Es. 2 per maund would 
amount to 4 annas 8 pie per tree ; this is a rather low estimate, 
looking to the fact that the expenses have yet to be taken into ac- 
count. In estimating 12 annas as the more correct basis of the 
average yield of a tree, I have not taken into consideration the 
expenses that are incurred by the ryot in the preparation of goor. 
In a garden of two hundi*ed trees the ryot has to lay out — 

Ks. a. p. 



For fuel 10 

For two dao 6 

For purchasing jute 080 

Pots and pans 550 

Rent of two beegalis of land, at 2-8 per 

beegah 5 00 

Eent paid to zemindar for keeping up a 
bain (sugar-boiling stove), at 1 anna 3 
pie per eye ; 6 pie for two side eyes, six- 
teen openings in all 13 

Total .. 22 6 



Or 1 anna 9 pie per tree. 

This supposes that the ryot cuts his own trees, assisted by his sons, 
but this is seldom the case. He has to engage a gaclii (cutter) and a 
Mieri (his assistant) for the season, to whom he has to pay at the 



following rate — 

Es. a. p. 

Gachi (cutter) for the season 22 

Food for five months, at Rs. 2-8 . . . . 12 8 

Cloths 12 

Shoes 8 

Total 36 2 



Es. a. p. 

Kheri (assistant) Rs. 9 for the season . . 9 
Food for five months, at Rs. 2-8 .. .. 12 8 
Two cloths .. 180 

Total 22 



Total servant charge, Rs. 58-2, or 4 annas per tree. 

Total expense for two hundred trees, Es. 80-8, or 6 annas per 
tree, which leaves a clear profit of 6 annas for every tree to the 
ryot, besides the advantage he enjoys for raising a cold-weather or 
dhan crop in the soil occupied by the date garden. 

The wood of the date tree is used as beams and posts in mat 
houses, and as ladders in tanks and ghats ; it is also employed in 
constructing temporary bridges over khals and drains. 



THE WILD DATE PALM OF INDIA. 



261 



The leaves cut off before tapping season are used as fuel in the 
manufacture of goor, and answer the purpose a month. At Kali- 
gunge hedia patis (leaf mats) are manufactured from the leaves and 
sewn into bags, into which sugar is put before being carried to 
Nalchith and other places. In the two subdivisions I have gone over, 
4205 acres of land are occupied by date trees, exclusive of those 
growing all round the corners of ryots' houses. The approximate 
number of date trees in these two subdivisions is 1,033,825, or about 
two hundred and forty trees per acre, A beegah of land (one-third 
of an acre) is generally planted with one hundred trees ; but as some 
of them die in the course of time, the above estimate is not beyond 
the mark. In both these subdivisions there are 2720 juice-boiling 
stoves or bains. For each opening in which a boiler is placed, the 
zemindar levies a tax of 1 anna 3 pie, and 6 pie for each of 
the side openings through which fuel is applied. Although the culti- 
vation of the date tree has gone on increasing from year to year, on 
account of the increased demand for sugar and the shipments made to 
Europe, still there are no accui'ate data available for the purpose 
of ascertaining the actual proportion of increase. In Mr. Westland's 
Treatise, p. 207, it is stated that in 1791 the annual produce of sugar 
cultivation was 20,000 maunds, of which half was exported to Cal- 
cutta. The increase in cultivation within the last eighty-four years 
may be imagined from the fact that in the subdivisions of Jhenidah 
and Magurah alone, comprising as they do only one-third of the 
district, the production was 391,780 maunds of goor and 137,000 
maunds (82 lbs.) of sugar in the year 1873, of w^hich nearly 50,000 
maunds have been sent down to Calcutta. There is an extensive date 
cultivation in the subdivisions of Jessore and Nurrail, which has not 
been taken into account in this estimate. 

Manufacture of Date Sugar from Goor. — The season for manufac- 
turing powdered sugar from goor begins about the 20th Aghran 
(1st December) and ends on the 15th or 20th of Jyet (end of May), 
extending over a full period of six months. 

The moat important place in this district (Jessore) with regard to 
the manufacture of sugar is Chaudpur. The process adopted is 
easier than at first may be imagined. 

The earthen jars into which the cultivator puts his goor are broken 
up by the sugar manufacturer and the contents poured into a wicker 
basket, through which the scum oozes out below into a pan. On 
the fifth day, a river weed, called patta seala, found in abundance 
in the bed of the Bhyrab and Kabadak, is placed over the goor in 
the basket and kept for eight days. When the seala dries up, it is 
thrown away, and the upper stratum in the basket, consisting of about 
5 seers, is scraped off the surface. New seala is again put and kept 
on for eight days, and the above process repeated. In the second and 
third processes the sugar is about 10 seers each time ; in the fourth 
process the yield is 7 seers, and in the fifth 5 seers. In the last 
stage the yield is about 13 seers of inferior sugar. So from 3 J 
maunds of goor IJ maund of sugar (sold at times at Es. 10 per 
maund) is thus obtained. The average price of a maund of goor 
being Es. 2, Es. 7 worth of goor produces Es. 12-8 worth of sugar. 



262 



THE WILD DATE PA.LM OF INDIA. 



The scum which has oozed and is called mat, is again boiled, and 
sugar is manufactured from it under the above process. The second 
mat or scum is called cMtta goor, used for sweetening tobacco and 
manufacturing rum. 

The sugar thus obtained is called dalua — from its being produced 
in clods which are beaten and reduced to powder. 

The manufacture of schachi (or real) sugar is carried on in the 
following manner : — Goor purchased in tillias (pots) is transferred 
into gunny bags, which are pressed betwixt bamboos in a hanging 
posture. The granular goor which remains in the bag is called 
Miar, and the droppings — mat hliar — are then boiled in a pan mixed 
up with milk water and passed through gunny and cloth sieves, and 
reboiled and transferred to semi-elliptical pots called hharneas with a 
hole at the bottom. These pots are arranged over shelves and sub- 
jected to a course of seala refining as in the case of dalua sugar. 
The oozing during this process is called mat goor. When the 
second course of seala is put on, the droppings are called jherani, and 
so on. The process is repeated until the pot is well-nigh exhausted. 
The sugar produced is called (real) sugar No. 1. The mat goor of 
the bags and of the first refining process are boiled together and 
become chitta goor. By boiling the jherani goor, (Jlierani) sugar 
No. 2 is produced by same process as the real sugar. Loaf-sugar or 
dobara cliini is manufactured from the dalua, which is boiled in water 
and skimmed with milk. It is then put into an open earthen pot 
perforated below. After the scum has dropped out two days, seala is 
placed on the sui-face of the sugar, and after eight days it arrives at 
its refined state. The droppings are boiled and a kind of sugar 
inferior to the above, called ehhara chini, is manufactured from the 
same. The second droppings are again manufactured into a sugar 
called jpetiar (basket) sugar. The sugar crop is a large one this year 
(1873), but owing to low rates in the English market the article is 
moving slowly. In 1872, 170,000 bazaar maunds of sugar were sold 
off in the Chandpur market, of which 30,000 maunds were for con- 
sumption in the Mofussil. 

In the Madras Presidency sugar is extracted from the sap of the 
palmyra palm, and there are 10,000 acres covered with this tree, 
chiefly in Bellary. The spadix or young flowering branch is cut off 
near the top, and an earthen pitcher tied on to the stump. The sap 
runs into this pitcher, which is emptied and replaced every morning 
after the stump has l3een again cut ; and this process is repeated 
until the supply of the sap has been completely exhausted. Powdered 
chunam (lime), which has the property of preventing fermentation, 
is sprinkled on the outside of the earthen vessel in which the sap is 
collected. This juice is then boiled down, and the sugar obtained 
on drying the sediment by exposure. A tribe called Shanars draw 
the toddy or juice from the tree. 

In Bengal the juice of the date palm, which is so much more 
abundant in saccharine matter, is preferred for the manufacture of 
sugar ; though it is not apparent why, in parts of the country where 
the palmyra palm abounds and the people do not drink toddy, its 
vinous sap is not utilized in the same way as in Madras. 



THE PALMYRA PALM. 



263 



The Palmyra Palm* {Borassus flahelliformts, Lin.) is one of those 
enjoying the widest geographical distribution. A glance at one of 
the maps in Berghaus's or Johnston's Physical Atlas, showing the 
range of the most remarkable plants, will help to illustrate this fact. 

In the Madras Presidency there are 10,000 acres under culture with 
this palm. 

The number of uses for which the palmyra is employed may be 
said to be almost infinite ; indeed one of the Eastern languages, the 
Tamil, spoken in a portion of the region which the tree acknowledges 
as its native country, possesses a poem entitled ' Tala Vilasam, ' 
enumerating no fewer than eight hundred different purposes to which 
the palmyra may be applied, and this poem by no means exhausts the 
catalogue. 

The spadix bearing the fruits is generally simple, and covered with 
a single sheath or spathe, as in the areca, catechu, and cocoanut 
palms, but it is sometimes compound, and bearing two bunches of 
fruit in a compound spathe. The fruits are, with beautiful regularity, 
arranged round the spadix in three rows, and whichever way ex- 
amined are found in nearly opposite pairs. Each spadix bears from 
ten to twenty fruits, and one of these spadices, with the fruits ripe, 
would be nearly as much as a man could carry. Each palm bears 
seven or eight of these spadices, so that a tree often bears about one 
hundred and fifty fruits in one season ; each fruit is about the size of 
a young child's head. The fruits, when young, are pretty distinctly 
three-cornered, but when old, the pulp round the nuts swells so as to 
give the fruit the appearance of a perfect globe. 

The ripe fruits or drupes contain two or three nuts imbedded in a 
mass of soft yellow pulp, intermixed with dark, stravz-coloured fibre 
or coir. These nuts are oblong, and a good deal flattened, and covered 
with a mass of short fibre which adheres to them. Besides this fibre 
they are covered with a thick shell, so difficult of fracture that the 
Tamils say an elephant cannot break them. 

The fronds are fan-leaved, armed with spines radiating from a 
common centre, and the stipes serrated at their edges. The fan part 
is about 4 feet in diameter. It answers as a kind of umbrella when 
held by the stem over one's head. The spines are cut off, and the 
middle is formed into large fans, called vissaries and punkahs. These 
are lacquered for sale, or used plain, as may suit the taste of the pur- 
chaser, but one never sees a Buddhist priest without one of the smaller 
sort, or a fan of some kind or other ; of which some are heart-shaped, 
others circular, with handles of carved ivory. 

The leaves of this tree, as well as those of the talapat tree, are used 
instead of paper by the natives. They write letters upon them, which, 
neatly rolled up, and sometimes sealed with a little gum lac, pass 
through the post-office. During the operation of writing the leaf 
is supported by the left hand, and the letters scratched upon the 
surface with the stylus. Instead of moving towards the right hand, 
which performs the writing, the leaf is moved in a contrary direction, 
by means of the thumb. 

All their olas or books, treating of religion and the healing 

* By W. Ferguson. 



264 



THE PALMYRA PALM. 



art, &c., are transcribed on them, but in a language elevated above 
the common idiom. The leaves of both these palm trees lie in folds 
like a fan, and the slips stand in need of no other preparation than 
merely to be separated, and cut smooth and even with a knife, after 
having been slowly dried in the shade and rubbed with oil. Their 
mode of writing upon them consists in carving the letters with a fine 
pointed style, and in order that the characters may be the better seen 
and ;read, they rub them over with an ink made of lampblack, or some 
other substance, and a solution of gum, so that the letters have 
altogether the appearance of being engraved. 

The iron point made use of on these occasions is set either in a brass 
handle, which the Moormen and others carry about them in a wooden 
case, and which is sometimes six inches in length, or else it is formed 
entirely of iron, and together with the blade of a knife, designed for 
the purpose of cutting the leaves and making them even, set in a 
knife handle, common to them both, into which handle it shuts up, 
so that it may be carried by the owner about with him, and be always 
ready at hand. 

On such slips all the letters and edicts of the Dutch Government 
used to be written, and sent round open and unsealed. When a single 
slip was not sufficient, several were bound together by means of a 
hole made at one end, and a thread on which they were strung. If a 
book had to be made for the use of the Wihares or any other purpose, 
they sought for broad and handsome slips of talapat leaves, upon 
which they engraved the characters very elegantly and accurately, 
with the addition of various figui*es delineated upon them by way of 
ornament. All the slips had then two holes made in them, and were 
strung upon an elegantly t\sdsted silken cord, and covered with two 
thin wooden boards. By means of the cord the leaves ai'e held even 
together, and by being di-awn out when required for use they are 
separated from each other at pleasure. In the finer binding of these 
kind of books the boards are lacquered, the edges of the leaves cut 
smooth and gilded, and the title is written on the upper board ; the 
two cords are fastened by a knot or jewel secured at a little distance 
from the boards, so as to prevent the book from falling to pieces, but 
sufficiently distant to admit of the upper leaves being turned back 
while the lower ones are read. The more elegant books are in genfert,! 
wrapped up in silk cloth, and bound round by a riband, in which the 
Burmese have the art to weave the title of the book. The palmyra 
books are never much beyond 2 feet in length and 2 inches in 
breadth, as the parchment-like ribs between the little ribs will not 
admit of their increase in size. 

Narrow strips of the leaf are braided into sieves, hats and caps, 
baskets, mats, and bags ; the baskets are used for drawing water as 
well as other purposes, and the bags not only for carrying rice, salt, 
&c., in small quantities, but for storing grain, being made very large 
and strong, while the mats are necessary for the natives, not only to 
sit, eat, and sleep on, but for drying various kinds of fruit, treading 
out grain, and many other purposes. On the stem of the leaf is a 
very hard and strong covering, like that on the bamboo or rattan, 
which, slit off", is formed into coarse, strong ropes. 



THE PALMYRA PALM. 



265 



Each tree has from twenty-five to forty fresh green leaves upon 
it at a time, and of these the natives frequently cut off twelve or 
fifteen annually, or a greater number once in two years, to be devoted 
to various purposes, as well as to enable the fruit to ripen and in- 
crease in size. When the leaves are intended for thatch, or for 
making fences, they are placed flat on the ground in layers over each 
other, and often with weights upon them to assist in the process 
of flattening them. The thatch formed of these does not last longer 
than two years, nor is it so handsome as that made from the plaited 
cocoanut leaves. The leaves make very close and elegant fences. 

Toddy. — At the season when the inflorescence begins to appear, 
when the spathes have had time to burst, the " toddy drawer " is at 
work in the palmyra groves. His practised eye soon fixes on those 
trees fit for the " scalping knife," and if they have not dropped the 
foot-stalk of the leaves, the first operation, if the trees are valuable, 
is to wrench them off. This done, the toddy drawer, armed with his 
leathern protector for his breast, his raceme-batten of wood, his small 
thongs, straight and crooked knives, with the side leather pouch to 
contain them, procures a piece of tough jungle vine, or a strip of the 
stalk of a young palmyra or cocoanut tree, which he converts into a 
sort of loop, of such dimensions as to admit of his feet getting 
through to a space large enough to allow them to clasp the tree. 
This done, he puts his feet in this thong, stands close to the tree, 
stretches himself at full length, clasps it with his hands, and pulls 
his feet up as close to his arms as possible ; again he slides up his 
hands, and repeats the process, until, by a species of screw process, 
he ascends to the summit of the tree. An expert climber can draw 
toddy from about forty trees in a few hours. In Jaffna a distinction 
is made between toddy and sweet toddy, the former, called by the 
Tamils " culloo," is the fermented, the latter the unfermented juice. 
Toddy serves extensively as yeast, and throughout Ceylon no other is 
employed by the bakers ; large quantities of it are also converted into 
vinegar, used for pickling gherkins, limes, the undeveloped leaves of 
the cocoanut and palmyra trees, and other substances; but by far 
the greatest quantity is boiled down for jaggery or sugar. About 
1000 tons are said to be manufactured of it in Ceylon. 

According to Forbes, three quarts of toddy will make 1 lb. of 
jaggery. Malcolm remarks that jaggery resembles maple sugar, and 
that in the neighbourhood of Ava, 1 lb. sells for the third of a penny. 
In Jaffna 3 lbs. are sold for '^d. The usual process of making 
jaggery, as pursued at Jaffna, is exceedingly simple. The sweet 
toddy is boiled until it becomes a thick syrup, a small quantity of 
scraped cocoanut kernel is thrown in that it may be ascertained 
by the feel if the syrup has reached the proper consistency, and 
then it is poured into small baskets of palmyra leaf, where it cools 
and hardens into jaggery. In these small plaited palmyra baskets it 
is kept for home consumption ; sent coastwise, chiefly to Colombo, or 
exported beyond seas to be refined. To make vellum or crystallized 
jaggery, which is extensively used as a medicine, the process is nearly 
the same as for the common sugar, only the syrup is not boiled for so 
long a period. 



266 



THE PALMYRA PALM. 



The pot which contains it is covered and put aside for some 
months, at the end of which period the crystals are formed in abun- 
dance. The juice of the palmyra is richer in saccharine matter than 
that of most other palms, in consequence, perhaps, of the tree more 
generally growing in dry sandy soil, and in a dry climate. The 
great fault of the jaggery made at Jaffna seems to arise from the too 
free application of lime, a small quantity of which is absolutely 
necessary to prevent fermentation. J aggery forms an article of com- 
merce from the upper to the lower provinces of Burmah, and is also 
of importance in some of the islands of the Indian Archipelago. 
Besides being exported in large quantities from Ceylon, it forms a con- 
siderable portion of the food of the Tamil people of Jaffna. Amongst 
a variety of purposes to which it is put, is that of being mixed with 
the white of eggs, and with lime from burnt coral or shells. The 
result is a tenacious mortar, capable of receiving so beautiful a 
polish that it can with difficulty be distinguished from the finest 
white marble. 

Timber. — A fuU-gro-wn palmyra is from sixty to seventy feet high, 
its trunk at the bottom is about five and a half feet in circumference. 
The wood is generally known in Ceylon and the maritime ports of 
India. Large quantities of it are exported from Point Pedro, and 
other ports of Jaffna, to Madras and Colombo. At certain seasons of 
the year the felling, splitting, dressing, and exporting of it give work 
to thousands of the Tamil people of the northern peninsula of 
Ceylon. The trees have to arrive at a considerable age before they 
are of use for timber ; when a hundred years old they are excellent. 
The wood of this palm near the circumference, when of sufficient 
age, is remarkably hard, black, heavy, and durable, and universally 
used for rafters in pent-roofed houses, for which purpose Roxburgh 
states it is the best wood in India. The centre is soft and spongy, 
containing little else than a coarse kind of farinaceous matter, inter- 
mixed with some soft, white woody fibres, and is cut out, as the black 
exterior hard part only is employed. The wood is capable of taking 
a fine polish. Its specific gravity is, according to Mr. Mendis, 
65 lbs. per solid foot. For house building, and various domestic 
purposes, the timber is the most generally used of the palm tribe. 
Pillars and posts for the verandahs of houses, well sweeps, joists, and 
reepers, or laths, &c., are made from it. The trunk is split into four 
for rafters, into eight for reepers or laths, and these are dressed with 
an adze. From the structure of the fibres, it splits easily in the 
direction of its length, but supports a greater cross strain than any 
other wood ; iron nails, however, will rust rapidly in it. 

Palmyra trunks split into halves, with the heart scooped out, are 
used as spouts for various purposes, but more especially for carrying 
away the water from the eaves of houses. The dark outside wood of 
very old trees is used to some extent in Europe for umbrella handles, 
walking canes, paper rulers, fancy boxes, wafer stamps, and other 
articles. 

Kelingoes. — The nuts are collected and buried in heaps in the 
ground. When dug up after the space of three months, the young 
shoots called kelingoes supply the inhabitants with a nourishing ali- 



THE SAGO PALM. 



267 



ment. In size, colour, and shape they resemble a parsnip, and look 
like a cold potato. In its fresh state it will keep good for a couple 
of months, and when well dried in the sun, for a whole year. 

In this state they are called odials. When reduced to flour or 
meal, the favourite cool or gruel is made of it. 

Punatoo. — The pulp of the fruit is preserved for use in the follow- 
ing manner : — ^The ripe fruits are put into baskets containing water, 
and are then squeezed by the hand till the pulp forms a jelly. 
Layers of this jelly are spread on palmyra leaf mats to dry on stages. 
Layer after layer is deposited to the number of about fifteen. These 
are left in the sun about a fortnight or three weeks, only covered at 
night, and protected from the dew and rain. The best sort is called 
Pimatos, and the tough withery kind made from the remaining fruits 
gathered at the end of the season, which is much in favour. Tot 
Punatoo. Punatoo is sold by the mat at 3s. to 6s. each, and is the 
chief food of the islanders of Ceylon, and of the poorer classes of 
the peninsula, for several months of the year. 

The Sago Palm [Sagus Bumphii, Willd., Metroxylon Sagus, Keen.) 
is a tree from which the inhabitants of the eastern portion of the Indian 
Archipelago derive the farinaceous nutriment which other nations of 
the world obtain from cereal grains, or farinaceous roots. Marco 
Polo (a.d. 1475) says of this tree : — " And I will tell you another 
great marvel ; they have a kind of trees that produce flour, and ex- 
cellent flour it is for food. These trees are very tall and thick, but 
have a very thin bark, and inside this bark they are crammed with 
flour." Friar Odoricus, of the Minorites, who visited the Indian 
Archipelago about 1518 a.d., describes the process by which sago 
meal was obtained, thus : — " Meal is produced out of the said trees 
after this manner. They be mighty huge trees, and when they are 
cut with an axe by the ground, there cometh out of the stock a certain 
liquor like unto gum, which they take and put into bags made of 
leaves, laying them for fifteen days together abroad in the sun, and 
at the end of those fifteen days, when the said liquor is thoroughly 
parched, it becometh meal. Then they steep it first in sea water, 
washing it afterwards with fresh water, and so it is made very good 
and savoury paste, whereof they make either meat or bread, as they 
think good." 

After the Nipa, the Sago is in stature the smallest of the palm 
tribe, its extreme height seldom exceeding thirty feet, but it is the 
thickest, except the Gomuti (Arenga sacchariferd), and a full-grown 
tree can with difficulty be clasped between both arms. In the early 
period of its growth, and before the stem has formed, this palm 
appears altogether like a cluster of so many shoots. Until the stem 
has attained the height of five or six feet, it is covered with sharp 
spines, which afford it protection from the attacks of the wild hog, or 
other wild beasts. When, from the strength and maturity of the 
wood, this protection is no longer necessary, the spines drop off. 
Before the tree has attained its full growth, and previous to the for- 
mation of the fruit, the stem consists of a thin hard wall, about two 
inches thick, and of an enormous volume of a spongy, medullary 



268 



THE SAGO PALM. 



substance. This medullary substance is the edible farina, from 
which the inhabitants of the Archipelago make their bread. As the 
fruit forms, the farinaceous pith disappears, and when the tree attains 
full maturity the stem is no more than a hollow shell. The utmost 
age of the tree does not exceed thirty years. The sago palm loves 
low, marshy situations, and will not flourish on dry or mountainous 
places. Eumphius says : — " This tree grows best in miry or watery 
soil, where men sink to the knee in mud. It will also grow in 
gravelly soil, if only it is charged with moisture, and hence no plan- 
tation of the sago tree will thrive where there are not one or more 
rivulets of water." A bog knee-deep is consequently the best site 
for a sago plantation. There are four well-marked varieties of this 
palm, namely : 

(1) The cultivated, S. Bumphu or S. Konigii, spinous, both on the 
trunk and leaves. (2) The wild. (3) One distinguished by the 
length of the spines on the branches. (4) Another destitute of 
spines {S. Icevis, Reinw.), and usually called by the islanders the 
female sago. 

The first and last varieties yield the best farina ; the second a hard 
pith, from which the farina is extracted with difficulty ; while the 
third, which has a comparatively slender trunk, contains but a small 
quantity of farina. The sago, like other palms, is propagated from 
the seed or fruit, which is of inconstant shape and size, from^a prune 
to a pigeon's or a pullet's egg. 

The Sago and Nipa palms furnish in the Amboyna Isles a whole- 
some and abundant nourishment, for a basket of their fruit will 
support seven or eight persons for a week. A good tree will furnish 
thirty baskets as an average harvest ; the fruits keep well in water. 

The sago of the Arenga palm is more palatable than that of the 
sago palm, bu* the culture involves more care, and the product does 
not keep so well. 

The word sagu is said to be the Malay name for bread or meal. 

Sago meal is eaten by the natives in the form of pottage, and also 
partially baked in earthenware moulds into small square biscuits 
about two inches long, two broad, and half an inch thick, which will 
keep a considerable time. Large quantities of the sago meal in its 
raw state are received at Singapore from the Eastern Islands to be 
granulated or pearled and bleached for shipment to Em.*ope. 

Sago is much used during their sea voyages by the natives ; it is 
cooked by simply dipping the cake in warm water, which softens it, 
it is also sometimes made into soup. 

The sago tree is found, in one or other of its species, throughout 
the whole length of the Eastern Archipelago, from the islands off the 
west coast of Sumatra to New Guinea. It is probably capable of 
flourishing with complete vigour across nearly the entire breadth, 
wherever its natural soil occurs, and certainly within 10° north and 
south of the Equator, a band which includes all the Archipelago, ex- 
cept the Philippines. The only countries, however, where it is found 
growing in large forests are. New Guinea, the Moluccas, Celebes, 
Mindanao, Borneo, and Sumatra, being widely spread over the 
Moluccas, but confined to particular parts of the others. 



THE SAGO PALM. 



269 



The native country of the sago palm appears to be that portion of 
the Archipelago in which the easterly monsoon is boisterous and 
rainy. It is most abundant in the islands distinguished for the pro- 
duction of the clove and nutmeg, and is to be found in its wild state 
in immense forests. Of all the plants which afford a supply of 
nutritious farina for human food the sago is at once the most obviously 
easy, and abundant. The mass of nutritive matter which a single 
tree yields is certainly prodigious. Five and six hundred pounds 
weight, it appears, is not an unusual produce for one tree. 

Allowing for destroyed, barren, and unproductive trees, the average 
rate of produce may be assumed at 300 lbs. avoirdupois. 

Forrest states the average produce of a Molucca tree to be 336 lbs., 
but Rumphius makes it from 600 lbs. to 800 lbs. ; and according to a 
writer in a Singapore paper, good Sumatra trees yield from 760 lbs. to 
950 lbs., and the very worst 475 lbs. Perhaps, therefore, 700 lbs. 
may be assumed as an average for the Sumatra trees, which at 10 feet 
apart (the distance stated by Forrest and followed by Crawfurd) would 
give 300,000 lbs. for the harvest from one acre ; and allowing that 
the harvests are fifteen years apart, and not seven as Forrest as- 
sumes, this will give an annual average produce of 20,000 lbs. I 
believe, however, that five or six feet is about the average distance of 
the large stems in the Sumatra forests. When a plantation has once 
arrived at maturity there will be a constant harvest, because the 
natural mode of growth secures a constant succession of new plants 
from the time those first planted have begun to extend their roots, and 
the succession can be regulated by the knife in any way the planter 
desires. 

There is no regular fixed season for extracting the pith, which is 
taken as occasion requires and as the individual tree becomes ripe. 
The period of maturity depends on the nature of the soil on which the 
palm grows. Fifteen years may be reckoned an average time for the 
tree to come to maturity. It is not, however, by a calculation of 
the tree's age, but by its appearance, or by an actual experiment 
on the pith, that the period of maturity is determined. The inhabi- 
tants of the Moluccas mark six stages in the progress of the ripening 
process of the medullary substance, the first of which is known by 
the appearance of a mealy efflorescence on the branches, and the last 
by the commencement of fructification. The pith may be extracted 
at any of these stages ; and sometimes the natives, trusting to their 
experience, proceed to the harvest from the mere appearance which the 
tree presents. More frequently, however, a hole is bored in the trunk 
and a small quantity of the pith extracted for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing the degree of its maturity. When the pith is ascertained to be 
ripe, the tree is cut down near the root and the trunk subdivided into 
portions of six or seven feet long, each of which is split into two parts ; 
from these last pieces the medullary substance is extracted and at 
once reduced to a powder-like sawdust with an instrument of bamboo 
or hard wood. The process of separating the farina from the accom- 
panying bran and filaments is simple and obvious, and consists merely 
in mixing the powdered pith with water and passing the water charged 
with the farina through a sieve at one end of the trough in which the 



270 



THE SAGO PALM. 



mixture is made. This water is again passed into a second vessel, 
where the farina settles down to the bottom, and, after two or more 
washings, is fit for use. This substance is the raw sago meal which 
keeps without further preparation for a month. For further use the 
meal is made into cakes, which remain sweet for a long time. But for 
exportation the finest sago meal is mixed with water, and the paste is 
rubbed into small grains of the shape and size of coriander seeds. 

Each tree yields about 50 lbs. of flour ; and considering that after 
cutting down the tree new suckers are sent out from the root, which 
in their turn render a harvest, and that the culture requires little 
care, it must be admitted that this palm is for the natives a vegetable 
food more rich and less variable in its produce than rice. 

The sago palm is grown in different parts of the Indian continent 
as an ornamental tree ; and as it is easy of propagation and not 
difficult to cultivate, it might be of advantage to the country if 
private enterprise would set on foot plantations of this valuable tree 
in suitable localities in the plains of India. 

In Borneo the sago palm is found thriving along the north coast at 
Kaluka, Oya, Muka, and Bentulu. It is cultivated chiefly by the 
Millanii population. This tree requires eight years to attain its full 
growth ; it is then cut down and the heart of it extracted. One tree 
produces about 800 lbs. of raw sago, which, after being washed and 
dried, gives 330 lbs. of sago flour. During its growth it throws out 
numerous shoots, which are capable of being transplanted, and thus a 
plantation is easily increased. The quality of the Sarawak sago flour 
is considered to be exceedingly good. 

The supply of this product is at present abundant, and so easily is 
the tree capable of propagation that the country between the Eijang 
and Bentulu could, without much difficulty, be made equal to the 
supply of almost any demand. As much of the sago is now wasted, 
owing to the careless and imperfect manner in which the tree is 
worked by the natives, the employment of machinery would no doubt 
tend greatly to the economy of this valuable commodity. 

There are now several sago factories at Sarawak, all belonging to 
Chinamen, and worked solely by manual labour. The number of 
hands employed in each of these is from thirty-six to forty, who 
manage to turn out 7000 lbs. to 8000 lbs. of sago daily. 

Muka not only supplies Sarawak with the sago which it requires 
for export, but also shipped raw sago direct to Singapore of the value 
of 31,000 dollars in 1865. 

Value of the sago exported in dollars from Sarawak : 



Year. 


Raw. 


Flour. 


Pearl. 


1863 


7,050 


64.634 




1864 


21,000 


lli;509 


19,039 


1865 


11,622 


67,207 


13,301 


1866 


21,054 


56,647 


9,557 


1867 


18,472 


97,309 


1,250 


1870 


11,859 


128,025 


5,066 


1875 


720 


306,464 





THE SAGO PALM. 



271 



The export of sago flour from Brunei in 1864 was 16,773 piculs. 

From Sarawak in 1864 tlie exports were 2667 tons of sago flour ; 
pearl sago to the value of 20,000 dollars ; and raw sago, value 
21,000 dollars. 

In 1874 the combined value of the raw sago, pearl sago, and sago 
flour shipped from Borneo was about 19,000^. 

The raw sago is brought down by natives from the interior to 
Brunei, and is there washed and undergoes a refining process before 
being shipped. The labour employed in the washing and manufac- 
turing process is exclusively Chinese ; and the three sago manufactories 
in Brunei were established by and belong to Chinese traders. 

Whether this palm is an indigenous plant, or whether it was 
originally introduced and cultivated, is perhaps a question : but so 
abundant is its natural growth, that so long as it was only required 
for native consum]3tion there was never any occasion for its cultiva- 
tion. The palm grew wild and in luxuriance, and trees were cut down 
whenever required. With the increasing demand by foreign markets 
for sago flour, the inhabitants of the more accessible and more 
populous districts have been induced to extend the existing area of 
the natural growth of the palm, by planting new ground with young 
shoots. No further cultivation is required. Once planted, the 
young shoot in about seven years becomes a tree of sufiicient 
matui'ity for the extraction of the medullary pith out of which the 
sago flour is made, and already propagating itself by sending out fresh 
shoots in all directions. 

In the colony of Labuan the sago traders have largely increased 
their business, owing to the Sultan of Borneo having removed some 
of the obstructions to the transit of sago in the neighbouring rivers, 
and it is not improbable that this island may yet become the centre 
of the sago manufacture of the Eastern Archipelago. In 1867 sago 
was imported into Labuan of the value of 981 IZ. ; in the following 
year the trade increased 100 per cent., the value of the imj)orted sago 
being 19,841/., and the process of manufacture added 8764Z. more to 
the value of the sago. 

In Celebes all the inhabitants feed upon sago of a very coarse 
quality, which may be said to grow spontaneously, affording them 
abundance of subsistence. The sago plantations are situated in 
the valleys between the mountains, in swampy ground. There are 
several kinds of sago tree, some of which will not produce any 
useful fecula or starch for the first 16 years. It is collected from 
trees of 8 years up to 32 or 35 years of age, after which the tree be- 
comes perfectly hollow, and rots away from the top downwards. A 
sago tree of 10 years growth will be about 27 feet high, and from 
5 feet to 8 feet girth at the bottom, and is continually yielding its 
crop. When the substance of the edible sago is 3 inches to 5 inches 
thick they cut it, and this will be in two or three months, according 
to the nature of the soil, and the oftener it is cut the faster it grows. 

There were in 1874, in the district of Tonsawang, Menado, 
353,600 sago palms, and their produce was about 2500 piculs of sago ; 
the price of the raw sago was half a florin the picul, and of purified 
sago two and a half florins the picul. There were in Billiton in the 



272 



THE SAGO PALM. 



same year 20,630 sago trees. The produce of sago in Riouw is 
about 57,700 piculs. 

There are four or five species of palms which yield sago ; those 
most cultivated are, however, the Sagus Konigii and the Sagiis Icevis. 
These palms are found in every part of the Malayan Archipelago and 
Philippines as far as Mindanao, wherever there is a genial soil for 
them, and this consists of a marsh or bog, composed of decayed 
vegetables, near the sea. They are most abundant in the eastern 
parts of the Malay Archipelago, at the Moluccas and neighbouring 
islands, with New Guinea and Borneo, and in the Philippines at 
Mindanao. In all these sago is more or less the bread of the inhabi- 
tants. These palms propagate themselves by lateral shoots as well 
as by seed, and they die after producing fruit. From the first of 
these properties it follows that a sago plantation once formed is 
perpetual. 

The sago tree, when cut down and the top severed from it, is a 
cylinder about 20 inches in diameter, and from 15 feet to 20 feet in 
height. The contents would, therefore, be nearly 26 bushels, and, 
allowing one-half for woody fibre, there will remain 13 bushels of 
starch, or say 700 lbs. 

It may give some idea of the enormous rate of this produce, if it 
be considered that three trees yield more food-matter than an acre of 
wheat, and six times more than an acre of potatoes. An acre of sago, 
if cut down at one harvest, will yield 5220 bushels, or as much as 
163 acres of wheat, so that, according as we allow seven or fifteen 
years for the growth of a tree, an acre of sago is equal in annual pro- 
duce to 23 or 30 acres of wheat.* It is far from being either so 
palatable or nutritious as it is prolific, and is never preferred, even 
where it is most abundant, to rice. 

Singapore is at present the chief place of manufacture and prin- 
cipal mart for granulated sago and " sago flour," as it is termed in 
commerce, but which is, in fact, the fecula, or ungranulated starch. 
The granulated fecula, or sago, of a dirty brown colour, used to be 
exported from the Archipelago in small quantities, but when the trade 
in Europe was thrown open, in 1814, the Chinese of Malacca began to 
prepare a superior starch, known in commerce under the name of 
pearl sago. 

All the raw sago manufactured at Singapore is brought from 
islands to the eastward, principally from the north-west coast of 
Borneo and the north-eastern part of Sumatra, with its adjacent isles, 
from Siak to Indragari, but a considerable portion comes from places 
more than 1000 miles distant. 

This article is very easily prepared for exportation in its raw state ; 
the tree is cut down, then the cellular tissue is taken out and made 
up into bundles. In this form some 18,000 or 20,000 tons are annually 
imported at Singapore, where it is prepared by the Chinese, who clear 
the meal or farina from the fibres of the cellular tissue, when the 
flour is either made up for exportation in its natural state, or granu- 
lated into pearl sago. 

Manufacture of Pearl Sago in Singapore, hy the Chinese. — The 
* * Journal of the Indian Archipelago,' vol. iii. p. 312. 



THE SAGO PALM. 



273 



tampins or leaf bags of sago having been placed in heaps in the shed, 
the first step is to open them, cast the contents on an inclined plane, 
about 12 feet square, surrounded by a rim rising about 2 inches from 
the surface ; the sago, massed together by having remained compressed 
in the tampin, is here broken up by the common chautzal (a kind of 
hoe). 

The raw sago having been thus made ready for the manufactory, the 
first process to which it is subjected is that of a thorough washing, 
without which it would remain impure and coloured. For this pur- 
pose strong tubs are employed, about 12 inches deep, 40 inches in 
diameter at the top, and 6 inches or more at the bottom ; they are bound 
by three hoops, each formed of about six rattans twisted together. A 
piece of thin coarse cloth is fastened by its four corners over each tub 
when used, and hung loosely into it. The moist sago being poured 
into this strainer, and there broken and bruised by the hand, is 
agitated until all its fine particles pass through the cloth and descend 
to the bottom of the tub, while the fragments of leaf, fibre, and other 
impurities which remain in the cloth are shaken into a rude mass, 
which is taken up in a bowl and thrown aside. The rapidity and 
deftness with which this and all the other manipulations are per- 
formed are very striking. The sago is next stirred with an oar for 
about an hour, after which it is left to stand for twelve hours, 
when the water is ladled out, and the sago, which fills about half the 
tub, is removed to undergo the last purifying process which precedes 
the granulation. This is performed in a mode at once simple and 
ingenious, the same principle being availed of which serves the gold 
and tin miners of the Archipelago to clean the ore ; the more precious 
matter happening in all three cases to be heavier than that with 
which it is mixed, and being thus readily separable by the action 
of running water. 

Two tubs are placed at a distance of 10 or 12 feet from each other, 
and connected by troughs, raised by a frameworls above them. These 
troughs are about 10 inches deep, 14 inches broad at the top and 
11 inches at the bottom, one end being closed and the other open, but 
having grooves in their sides and bottom, like those of a sluice, into 
which a series of horizontal pieces of wood or stick fit, each being 
about three-eighths of an inch in thickness. The end of a piece of 
cloth, of the breadth of the trough, being placed over the groove at 
the bottom, the shortest of the sticks is pressed down upon it, and the 
cloth, thus fastened, is made to hang down over the edge of the trough 
into the tub below it. The tub at the after end now receives the sago 
to about two-thirds of its depth, when it is filled up nearly to the top 
with water. A man now stirs up a portion of the sago with an oar till 
the water attains a milky appearance, when lie proceeds to pour it into 
the troughs. To prevent its falling abruptly an inclined piece of 
wood, 8 inches broad, is fixed across the trough, so as to leave only a 
narrow slit between it and the end of the trough. The water poured 
on this descends into the trough, and slowly fiowing to the other end 
deposits a portion of the sago in its progress. The suspended cloth, 
becoming saturated, serves at once to maintain and equalize the over- 
flow of the water into the tub below it. When the water is poured in 

T 



274 



THE SAGO PALM. 



the first waves advance rapidly and carry away much of the sago, but 
those that succeed deposit the greater part of their more solid con- 
tents, transporting into the tub only the lighter fibrous particles which 
it is the object of this operation to separate from the farina, and by 
the time the man has performed a similar service at the other trough, 
and is ready to pour a fresh supply into the first, the water flowing 
down the cloth has lost its whiteness. This process is continued 
until the deposit rises nearly to the level of the stick, when the sago 
next to it, which generally contains some impure sediment, is taken 
up with the fingers or thrown into the tub. The second stick is now 
fixed above the first, a fold of the cloth being interposed between them 
to prevent any liquid sago escaping through the seam, and the opera- 
tion goes on as before. When the milk in the upper tub begins to 
grow shallow it is again filled up with water and more sago stirred up 
and mixed with it. During the interval and at other more prolonged 
interruptions, the water in the troughs has had time to deposit 
all its contelits, the last being a fine fibrous matter, which, if not run 
over, would leave a thin yellow layer. The surface is therefore 
washed with the hand unfcil this layer is effaced and held in suspen- 
sion. When the troughs have been gradually filled up in the manner 
described, by a succession of deposits, and the wall built up to the top 
by the last stick, the sago is left to consolidate for twelve or fourteen 
hours. The fecule which passes out of the troughs in the current is 
afterwards thrown into one of the tubs, whose contents are to be 
washed and deposited in their turn, and some of it may even be des- 
tined to pass through the process many times before it sinks in the 
trough. 

In order to give it the degree of dryness required, it is exposed for 
one day to the sun, in lumps about a cubic foot in size, which are 
placed on tables standing in the open air. Large kajans (or mats) 
are kept in readiness to cover it when a shower of rain falls. It is 
next carried to the large shed, where it is thrown in a heap on a long 
table and broken down into a pulverulent state. It then passes through 
an oblong sieve, 30 inches by 20 inches, of which the bottom is formed 
of parallel fibres from the stem of the cocoanut leaf, kept in their 
position by strings, which cross them at distances of about 2 inches. 
The lumps which do not pass through the long interstices between 
the fibres are thrown back into the heap. 

The granulation or pearling now takes place. The sifted sago is 
placed in a cloth, of which the ends are tied to a long stick, and that 
is kept expanded in a bag-shape by a short cross-stick. A horizontal 
vibratory motion is given to this, the whole mass being kept in con- 
stant agitation and every part successively driven along the sides of 
the bag. This lasts for about a minute, when the now granular sago 
is again passed through a sieve similar to the preceding one, but the 
smaller grains which pass through are those which are rejected. 
Those that remain are transferred to a circular sieve, of which the 
bottom is formed of fine strips of bamboo crossing each other. The 
grains which pass through the square holes thus produced form the 
pearl sago of commerce in the unroasted state. Those that are 
larger than the holes are thrown back into the heap to run through 



THE SAGO PALM. ; 



275 



the same course again. To assist the men the oblong sieves and the 
granulating bag are sometimes suspended by rattans from the rafters 
of the shed. 

The roasting takes place in a row of iron pans, each about 2 J feet 
in diameter, which are biiilt into a platform of masonry about 15 feet 
long and 4 feet in breadth, covered with flat tiles. The pans rest in 
an inclined position, partly against the back of the platform, which 
rises about a foot above the level, and partly on a small prop of brick- 
work on the right side, an offshoot from the wall. Into the top of this 
prop a plate is sunk in which a cloth saturated with water is kept. 
Behind each pan is an open furnace mouth, and a man constantly 
attends to the fires, keeping them supplied with a few billets of hakan 
wood, and regulating them with a two-pronged iron fork, so as to 
maintain a moderate heat. The pan being gently rubbed with the 
cloth, a man who sits in front of it on a low stool on the platform 
pours into it a quantity of granular sago. This he slowly stirs for a 
short time with a wooden implement, called weah, having a sharp 
curved edge. More sago is poured in until it amounts to about two 
chupahs, when as it hardens he uses the weah more freely. After 
about three minutes' roasting it is removed to a table and passed 
through a round sieve, similar to that before described. The grains 
that adhere to each other are thrown aside, and those that pass 
through form a smoking heap, which is allowed to lie undisturbed for 
about twelve hours. The grains are about the same size as they 
were before roasting, and some retain wholly or partially their white 
and mealy appearance, but the greater part have become translucent 
and glutinous, and all have acquired a certain degree of toughness, 
although still soft. The final process is another roasting, which 
renders them hard and tough, and greatly reduces their size. The 
pearl sago thus prepared and fit for exportation, is put away in large 
open tins ready to be transferred to boxes or bags when sold. 

The imports of sago flour from Labuan, Borneo, Celebes, and 
Sumatra, &c., into Singapore, were, in 

Cwts. 

1868 314,546 

1869 282,855 

1870 367,255 

The exports from Singapore have been, in piculs : 



Year. 


Sago Flour. 


Pearl Sago. 


1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 


piculs. 
67,782 
74,587 
235,864 
218,008 
173,820 
154,489 


piculs. 

59,112 

67,239 

71,131 
107,245 
133,680 



The imports of sago have steadily increased in England since the 
abolition of the duty which was formerly levied. 
In 1830 the import and consumption of sago in the United King- 

T 2 



276 



THE BASTARD SAGO. 



dom was only 3,000 cwt. ; in 1841 it was 52,000 cwt. ; in 1850, 90,000 
cwt.; in 1860, 179,825 cwt.; in 1870, 280,047 cwt., of the value of 
218,400Z. ; in 1875, 360,357 cwt. of sago and sago flour, of the value 
of 273,913Z. 

The following figures give the imports of sago into the United 
Kingdom from the Straits Settlements alone : 





Cwts. 




Cwts. 


1862 .. . 


165,635 


1869 ,, . 


.. 268,978 


1863 


,, 123,870 


1870 , , 


, 268,666 


1864 .. , 


.. 111,423 


1871 .. . 


.. 227,766 


1865 ,. , 


, 106,409 


1872 .. . 


288,862 


1866 .. , 


.. 151,788 


1873 ,, , 


,. 279,766 


1867 ,. . 


,, 142,844 


1874 


, -300,299 


1868 .. . 


.. 241,800 







The chief uses of sago are for feeding stock, making starch, and by 
the cocoa manufactui'ers for grinding up and giving thickness to their 
product when consumed. 

The Bastaed Sago {Caryota wens) is a native of the mountainous 
regions of India, especially in the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, 
and in Travancore, Mysore, and Ceylon. It is one of the largest and 
most charming of this beautiful tribe, having a straight trunk from 
40 to 60 feet high. Sugar and toddy wine are both prepared from 
the sap of this palm, which is cultivated by the people for those 
uses. The best trees will yield 100 pints of sap in twenty-four 
hours; and it is on account of this productiveness that it is so 
much valued. The sugar and wine are obtained much in the same 
way as from the juice of other palms. 

Sago is prepared from the pith, and is either made into bread or 
boiled as a thick gruel. According to Dr. Roxburgh, "the pith 
or farinaceous part of the trunk of old trees is said to be equal to 
the best sago .... I have reason to believe this substance to be 
highly nutritious. I have eaten the gruel, and think it fully as 
palatable as that made from the sago we get from the Malay 
countries." * This sago is found to be an efficient substitute for 
the staple food of the countries where it is produced, during periods 
of famine. 

A fibre is prepared from the leaves of this palm, which is used for 
fishing lines and bowstrings. Commercially, it is known as kittool 
fibre and Indian gut in the English market. It is strong and durable ; 
though it will resist the action of water for a long time, it is 
yet apt to snap if suddenly bent or knotted. It is now used in 
brush making. During late years the trade in this staple in England 
has been small for want of stock ; the price in London in Jan. 1877 
was for good, lid. to Is. Id. per lb. ; ordinary, S^d. to 9^d. ; common, 
5d. to 7d. In Ceylon the split trunks are used as rafters, and 
are found very hard and durable. The fibre of the leaf-stalks is 
made into ropes, and used for tying wild elephants. The woolly 
substance found at the bottom of the leaves is employed occasionally 
for caulking ships. According to Buchanan, the trunks of this palm 

* Roxburgh's ' Flora ludica,' vol. iii. p. 626. 



THE CARNAUBA PALM. 



277 



are the favourite food of elephants. The fruit, which is about the 
size of a plum, has a thin yellow rind, very acrid, and if applied 
to the tongue will produce a burning sensation. Hence the specific 
name of the tree. The seeds are used by Mahomedans as beads. 

Another misnamed sago palm is the Cycas revoluta, Willd., a 
native of Japan. It is in that empire grown in plantations around 
the houses. The seeds are eaten, and an inferior kind of sago 
made from the central stem, whence it has received the name of sago 
palm, although the true, sago, as we have seen, is the product of the 
Sag Its Mum^Mi palm. 

Sago is easily obtained from the interior part or trunks of these 
trees. The process consists in pounding the spongy or cellular tex- 
ture of the stem — sometimes erroneously called the pith — and wash- 
ing it with water, which is strained, to separate the ligneous fibres 
from the fecula. Sago is grained by moistening the flour and pass- 
ing it thi-ough a sieve into a shallow iron pot that is suspended over 
a fire, by which means it assumes a globular form. In consequence 
of being half baked dui'ing the process of granulation, it may be kept 
a long time without undergoing a chemical change. 

According to Dr. Hamilton, a kind of sago flour is prepared from 
the nuts of Cycas drcinnalis, which is much used by the poorer 
classes of natives and forest tribes of Malabar and Cochin. The nuts 
are di'ied in the sun for about a month, pounded in a mortar, and the 
kernel made into flour. 

The Carnauba Palm. — This Brazilian palm (the Gopernicia cerifera, 
Mart.) is but little known beyond the locality where it growls, but its 
many useful products demand for it a more extended notice. It is 
most extensively found in the province of Ceara, although it is met 
with in several others of the northern districts of Brazil, either 
isolated or aggregated in immense forests. The stem (stipe), com- 
pletely round and straight, attains the height of 48 feet, and a 
thickness ranging between one foot and one foot and a half in cir- 
cumference. The upper part of the stem contains a medullary 
substance (parenchyma), which gives forth the leaves. The terminal 
bud (palmetto, or cabbage palm) furnishes a delicate and substantial 
food. In springing from the head of the stem, the leaves, to the 
number of six or eight, cross each other perpendicularly, united 
together by a mastic or coating which holds them firmly together. 
The petioles remain separate, but the leaves re-unite at the top and 
form a round fringed body. The interior of the young groups of 
leaves is clear yellow. At this stage of their development the leaves 
transude a dry pulverulent ash-coloiu'ed substance, which covers their 
interior surface and exhales a particular but agreeable odour. This 
substance is a vegetable wax ; it is detached from the leaves by the 
least shock when they begin to open, but when the fan is expanded, 
the simple movement produced by the wind is sufficient to cause this 
powdery substance to disappear. The carnauba palm delights in dry 
localities, or, at least, ground which remains dry the greater part of 
the year ; and yet it will stand perfectly the prolonged inundations 
of water, provided that they do Hot cover completely the whole lower 



278 



THE CARNAUBA PALM. 



part of tlie trunk. At Ceara and the surrounding country, where it 
never rains for six months in the year, that is in the season called 
spring by the natives, the carnauba pushes forth its most vigorous 
strength when the season is dry and destitute of water. At the time 
of the greatest aridity and desolation, corresponding with the winter of 
the temperate zones, forests of carnaubas flourish, blossom, and ripen 
their fruit. This singular plant is so proof to heat that it can sup- 
port without injury tbe action of fii'e, for the flames which may destroy 
the useless parts, only make it grow more vigorously subsequently. 
In the times of the greatest drought the people give themselves up 
with ardour to the collection of the products from the carnauba, which 
in those times yield new and increased resources. The most im- 
portant of these products is the wax. Early in the century Manuel 
Antonio di Macedo discovered at Ceara the carnauba wax. But 
although he pointed out the means of obtaining the wax, no persons 
appear to have occupied themselves about it. It would seem that the 
discovery dates before 1810, for it was in this year, and after the 
description of the botanist AiTuda, that it commenced to be known, 
and to produce a certain impression of novelty. The Brazilian 
authorities were not slow to give to it the importance it merited. 

The greater part of the wax obtained is used in Brazil, where it is 
employed in its raw state for lighting. In making it into candles, a 
small quantity of tallow is added. No one is seriously occupied in the 
scientific improvement of this product, which might become an article 
of considerable commercial importance. Meanwhile, a few makers of 
candles from carnauba wax at Ceara have recourse to certain processes 
by which they obtain a slightly improved product, but in general the 
candles made of it in Brazil are of a very inferior quality. They are 
most used for household purposes, especially for lighting kitchens. 
In fact, these candles produce the cheapest light that can be ob- 
tained. In comparing their illuminating power, the advantage is 
chiefly in the extraordinary duration of these candles, as the price is 
not higher than that of those made with other materials. Candles 
made with carnauba wax in the crude state give off in burning a 
perfume which is not disagreeable. As the discovery of this wax 
only dates from the early part of the century, it received little 
attention till after 1846, resulting from the great drought of the 
previous year. 

The following gives the exports from the port of Ceara : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Official Value. 


1846 
1856 
1860 


lbs. 
52,416 
83,808 
136,192 


£ 

694 
2,075 
3,371 



From the port of Aracati there was also shipped in 1858, 
1,124,320 lbs., valued at 38,055Z. From special information it 
appears that the minimum export from these two ports in 1862 was 
1,440,000 lbs., and the quantity consumed in the province of Ceara 



THE CARNAUBA PALM. 



279 



being estimated at 1,120,000 lbs., it follows that the total quantity 
of carnauba obtained in 1862 was over 2,560,000 lbs., of the official 
value of nearly 100,000Z. I may observe that of all the provinces of 
Brazil where the carnauba palm grows, that of Ceara alone gives any 
attention to the collection, and even there only the districts of Aracati 
and Ceara make of it an important industry. I cannot but think the 
official statistics given above are far below the reality, for the province 
of Ceara has more than half a million inhabitants, and these employ 
carnauba wax alone for lighting. There is also a very active com- 
merce carried on with the adjoining provinces in carnauba candles, 
transactions which do not come under the control of the customs ; and 
as the churches are exclusively lighted with them, these facts should 
be taken into account in the consumption. The commerce in this 
wax has increased considerably since 1862; in 1863 the official 
entries of exports through the custom-house of Ceara, and its 
outport, Aracati, were upwards of 2,000,000 lbs. of this wax. Sup- 
posing the local consumption to have increased in the same pro- 
portion, this brings up the production of carnauba wax to over 
4,000,000 lbs. Taking these figures for basis we may try to discover 
the number of trees required to furnish that quantity of wax. The 
harvest of leaves is made during six consecutive months, by cutting 
twice a month, making thus twelve cuttings in the year. Each tree 
gives on the average eight leaves at each cutting, which forms an 
annual yield of ninety-six leaves per tree. From an interesting notice 
by M. C. F. de Lima, a distinguished agriculturist of Ceara, I learn 
that five hundred leaves on good land yield 32 lbs. of wax, but it takes 
twelve hundred leaves on poor land to yield the same quantity. 
Taking the mean of these two quantities of leaves, we find that it 
requires eight hundred and fifty leaves to obtain 16 kilogrammes, or 
32 lbs. of wax. As each tree furnishes on the average ninety-six 
leaves a year, to ascertain the annual product of each tree, I take 
the following proportions (calculating in kilogrammes of 2 lbs.) : 
850 : 16 : : 96 : aj. The result for ninety-six leaves, or for one tree, 
is 1'807 kilogramme. To ascertain the number of palms necessary 
for the production of 2,000,000 kilogrammes (or 4,000,000 lbs.) of 
wax, the yield of 1863, it suffices to establish the following pro- 
portion : 1 kilo. 807 : 1 : : 2,000,000 : x. We find the result to be 
1,106,799 trees. This number scarcely represents one-fifth part of 
the carnauba palms distributed over the various provinces of Brazil. 
This palm thus produces an annual revenue of about Is. Qd. per 
tree, which is the more important, as the tree requires no outlay for 
culture, and suffers nothing from droughts, heavy rains, or fires. The 
vegetable wax, which covers in a light powder the leaves of the 
carnauba, is scattered through the atmosphere, borne by the winds, 
when it is not collected by the hand of man. 

In Ceara, where the collection of the wax is carried on, they have 
commenced to appreciate its value, and to look to its future importance. 
A law of the province specially protects the carnauba, by imposing a 
fine of 2s. 6c?. on anyone who destroys a tree without the permission 
of the proprietor. In the province of Rio Janeiro they have com- 
menced planting the carnauba palm, which has succeeded well. This 



280 



THE CARNAUBA PALM. 



is a useful attempt, because, besides its commercial yield, it con- 
tributes to render wholesome the locality where it grows. The col- 
lection of the wax is a very simple afifair. When the leaves comprising 
the network which crowns the head of the palm, separate in the form 
of a fan, they are cut, taking care to leave the sheath in the centre, 
which forms the network of the new shoot. To effect this, a sickle, 
or gardener's knife, is attached to a long handle of bamboo. A native, 
well up to his work, can with this cut thousands of leaves in a day. 
As the cutting continues for six months, one would suppose that the 
tree would soon be deprived of its fans, but this is not the case, for 
the vegetation is so rapid that the young shoots follow immediately 
the removal of the leaves, and the rest of six months given to the 
carnauba is sufficient to repair the damage from the pruning to which 
it has been submitted. The leaves are dried on the spot, extended 
in rows, the exterior on the ground, so that the wax may not escape 
by the opening of the angles of the fan. In about four days they are 
collected or heaped up, and a cloth sufficiently large is spread on the 
ground, around which two or three females place themselves, and 
taking the leaves beat them with a stick, so that the powder which is 
to become the vegetable wax falls on the cloth. In order that the 
powder may be more easily detached, a man splits the leaves into 
strips by means of a stiletto. To obtain the wax, this powder is 
immediately melted in clay or iron pots, a few drops of water being 
added. The melted wax is run into moulds of earth, by which it is 
transformed into cakes, of about 4 lbs. ; these, on cooling, however, 
break into small pieces, owing to the brittle property of the wax. 
After the removal of their coating the leaves are burnt, in default of 
any other convenient means of utilizing them. But independent 
of the wax which they furnish, the leaves might be applied to economic 
purposes. From time immemorial the aborigines of Ceara have pre- 
pared from the leaves a fibre which they twist into twine more or less 
fine, which is used for a number of purposes, such as for hammocks, 
cordage, fishing lines, &c. This industry has made much progress 
since the conquest of Brazil by the Portuguese, but it still remains in 
the hands of the semi-civilized natives. The leaves are reduced into 
fibre without any previous maceration, by first cutting them into 
strips, and then passing them over a rough card, consisting of points 
of iron fixed into a piece of wood. The aborigines make theirs of the 
teeth or bones of fish. I have no precise data upon which to form an 
estimate of the value of the fibre thus employed, but it is in such 
general use in the province that it must be considerable. The inhabi- 
tants of this country, with but rare exceptions, sleep in hammocks, 
and the cords by which these are attached to posts or trees are 
usually made of carnauba fibre. It would be possible to form an 
approximate estimate of the yards of cord employed for this purpose 
if it were all made of this fibre. However, I may, without much 
error, take the consumption of cords employed for this purpose at one 
million. If we calculate them at six yards, we arrive at an annual 
consumption of six millions of yards, supposing that the cords last 
but one year. Besides this special use, the cordage is employed 
for a great number of other uses : for securing the loads which are 
carried on the backs of beasts of burden; for lashing the bales of 



THE CARNAUBA PALM. 



281 



agricultural produce for export ; for dragging in imported merchan- 
dise ; for halters and ties for animals ; for nets, and a variety of other 
purposes. We may certainly set down carnauba cordage at one-third 
of the whole used in the province. The ropes of this palm fibre, 
strong and handsome, have not yet entered into foreign commerce. 
The young leaves have also another and very general use in the pro- 
vince, and in many of the seaports of Brazil. A great number of 
articles are made of straw in Europe for which the fibre of this palm 
is usually substituted in Brazil. Thus, they make of it, and sell 
at very moderate prices, hats, mats, baskets, brooms, mattresses, &c. 
These are all in frequent and common use, and are carried by sea 
along the coast, as well as the leaves for making them. Thus, in the 
year 1857, there were shipped from the ports of Ceara and Aracati 
30,625 mats, and about half a million leaves of carnauba, officially 
valued at 1500Z. Another frequent use for these leaves is to make a 
kind of cushion for the back of beasts of burden, to prevent the load 
injuring the animal. The dry leaves are also employed for thatching 
cottages. In Ceara and the adjoining provinces, one-third of the 
houses are covered with these leaves, which are remarkable for their 
lightness, elegance, and durability, and form an impermeable thatch. 

As evidence of the wasteful destruction of the leaves by burning, 
the following estimate may be given. A dry leaf, with the pedicle 
removed, weighs 134 grammes. The wax powder removed from a 
leaf is on the average 6 ' 75 grammes. The number of leaves burnt in 
1863, calculated on the yield of 2,000,000 kilogrammes, gives 
296,444,446. The weight of leaves at 134 grammes each would be 
39,723,555 kilogrammes. The immense quantity of textile material 
thus lost might be easily utilized for cordage, straw, &c. It only 
involves the cost of collection, which may be set down at less than 
2d. per cwt. on the spot. The locality where it could be had in most 
abundance is the town of Limoeiro, about 10 or 12 miles from the 
port of Aracati, for the carriage road between the two is bordered by 
carnauba palms. An attentive examination of this fibre, and its 
•abundance, suggests its utility as a paper-making substance. The 
scarcity of rags is becoming greater daily, therefore any raw material 
that can supply their place is a boon to the paper trade. 

The wood of the carnauba is very useful. Not only is it generally 
employed as a carpentry wood, but it is esteemed for joiners' and 
cabinet work. It is very hard, of a yellowish red, traversed with black 
veins, is susceptible of a fine polish, and occasionally offers black 
shades of a handsome effect. For general carpenters' work not 
exposed to the inclemency of the seasons the wood answers admirably, 
for in such positions it is indestructible. It has nothing to fear from 
gnawing animals if it is felled at maturity. But if exposed to the 
weather its duration is precarious, and it decays in from ten to fifteen 
years. To make amends for this, it is most durable in salt water, and 
is much esteemed for piles, palisades, &c., from its great resistance. 
There have been removed from old marine constructions, abandoned 
more than a century, piles of this wood in a thorough state of pre- 
servation. The carnauba would also be suitable for yards of vessels, 
as it is perfectly cylindrical, of an equal thickness throughout its 
length, and very elastic. M. Manoel Dias, of Aracati, thus speaks 



282 



THE BETELNUT PALM. 



of the carnauba in the Catalogue of Products shown at the National 
Exhibition, Eio Janeiro, in 1861 : " This wonderful palm is the tree 
of special utility. Man can with this plant alone construct his house, 
furnish, and light it. He can obtain from it wherewithal to nourish, 
clothe, and heal him. He can extract from it fecula, sugar, and spirit. 
Moreover, it furnishes good food for cattle and the denizens of the 
poultry yard. No other plant has been supplied by nature with so 
many useful properties as the carnauba, which is in the vegetable 
kingdom what iron is in the mineral kingdom. The products of this 
palm can be applied to more than forty diverse uses, and it may be 
added that the number of its various applications is by no means 
exhausted.'* 

The Betelnut Palm. — This palm, the Areca Catechu, is generally 
admitted to be the most graceful and elegant of the Eastern palms. 
It is extensively distributed over India, but is cultivated chiefly on 
the Malabar coast, in the north of Bengal, and the lower slopes of 
the mountains of Nepal ; the south-west coast of Ceylon, Siam, 
Cochin China, Pinang, and Sumatra. Unlike the cocoa palm, it will 
thrive in high regions and at a distance from the sea. 

From Ceylon the export seems to be on the increase ; for whilst 
in former years, 60,000 to 70,000 cwts. was the average, in 1873 the 
shipments reached 146,484 cwts., valued at 85,300/., and in 1874 
129,826 cwts., valued at 108,730Z. 

This palm begins to bear fruit after five years, and continues pro- 
ductive for twenty-five years. It flowers in April and May, and the 
nuts are ripe in October. The nuts most esteemed are those gathered 
before they are quite ripe. 

An extensive commerce is carried on in the East in the fruit of 
this palm, which forms a main ingredient in the Eastern masticatory. 
Blume tells us, that the Asiatic nations would rather forego meat and 
drink than their favourite betelnuts, whole shiploads of which are 
annually exported from difi'erent quarters. One hundred millions of 
people use the betelnut. There are said to be twenty different species 
of Areca, but probably many of these are only varieties. This palm 
often grows 50 feet high, with a diameter of less than two feet ; it 
has no branches. The fruit, a drupe, about the size of a pullet's 
egg, does not fall from the tree even when ripe ; it has a yellowish 
shell ; thin, with arched veins, cohering with the pulp all round. 

It is stated, that a fruitful palm will produce, on an average, 850 
nuts annually, but the mean may be taken at 300 nuts. The average 
production in a plantation is about 10,000 lbs. of nuts per acre. 

A cargo of betelnuts generates so much heat, that the crew cannot 
sleep between decks. A good tooth-powder is made from the nuts. 
When turned they are used for bracelets. In the Cossyah or Khasia 
country, the natives measure distances by the number of mouths of 
betelnuts chewed on the road. 

In the island of Yap, Western Paciflc, the betelnut tree is culti- 
vated with the greatest care. It is a beautiful slender palm, and 
grows amongst the cocoanut trees, which it resembles in appearance. 
The nuts are pulled before they are ripe, and are chewed with the 
usual condiments, lime and aromatic leaves, by both sexes. They are 



THE BETELNUT PALM. 



283 



called Addaca in Travancore. In the Bombay market three kinds 
are met with; white, from Sheviirdhun, which are three times the 
value of those from other countries ; red, which are half the value of 
the best white ; and nuts in the husk, sold by the thousand. The 
crushed nut is generally used with the leaf of the betel-pepper 
(Pijper Betle), and chunam or shell-lime. Prepared slices of boiled 
betelnut, called Callyareka, are sold in Cochin at about 6d. a pound. 

The mastication of the betel is considered very wholesome by those 
who are in the habit of using it. Mr. Crawfurd thinks that, like 
tea, coffee, and tobacco, the areca nut stimulates the nervous system, 
and hence its general use. It may be so, but the black hue it imparts 
to the teeth (although it is said to be an excellent preserver of them), 
together with the blackened lips and mouth, give anything but an 
agreeable appearance. 

Betelnuts contain a large quantity of tannin, which has caused 
them to be employed in some parts of India for dyeing cotton cloths. 
The exact country of the betelnut is unknown, but is supposed to be 
the Sunda Islands ; the tree, from time immemorial, has been exten- 
sively cultivated in all parts of the East Indies, so that we are unable 
to trace it back to the spot whence it originally may be supposed to 
have come. It grows freely in all the eastern islands, from Sumatra 
to the Philippines, and seems to have as many distinct names as there 
are languages. Thus in Malay and Chinese it is called Pin-lang or 
Pinang (giving its name to the island in the Straits) ; in Sumatra, 
Jambi ; in Bali, Banda ; in Bugis, Pa^o ; and in Tagala and Bisaya, 
Bongo ; in Achin, Penu ; in Sanscrit, Goorvaka ; in Bengalee, Gooa ; 
in Arabic, Fofal ; in Persian and Hindustani, Soojpara ; and in Telugu, 
Poha CJiettu. Judging by this, the probability is that the tree is 
indigenous in each country. In the fresh or green state, the betelnut 
is an object of general domestic consumption ; and in the diy state, 
of large exportation to China and India. Fifteen tons of these nuts 
were shipped from Singapore in 1858, to the single port of Ningpo. 
The shipments from the Straits Settlements in 1867 were 3,820,457 
cwt., valued at 120,626Z. From Pinang the exports in 1870 were 
166,111 piculs. The most productive countries in this article are 
Ceylon, and the northern and southern coasts of Sumatra, towards its 
western extremity. At Billiton, in the Eastern Ai'chipelago, there 
were in 1874 65,228 Areca palms. 

At Travancore, where the betelnut is a staple product, a quarter of 
a centmy ago, there were ten and a quarter million of trees growing, 
which, at the average yield, would produce about 68,000 tons of 
nuts. From the Madras Presidency there was shipped to Bombay in 
1872-73 43,958 cwt., besides about two millions of the nuts unhusked. 
In Pinang there are half a million, or more, betel palms, producing 
upwards of 3000 tons. The Pedir coast of Sumatra produces an- 
nually about 4700 tons, of which half is exported. The Chinese 
receive from thence 3000 tons, besides as much more from Cochin 
China. When there is not an immediate demand for the nuts they 
are stored in the husk, but insects attack them freely. Of the nuts 
produced in Travancore, 300 tons of prepared nuts are annually sent 
to Tinnevelly and other parts of the peninsula, and about 3,000,000, 
ripe nuts, in the husk, to Bombay and other places by sea. The local 



284 



THE BETELNUT PALM. 



modes of preparing the nut for use in Travancore are as follows : — 
Those used by families of rank are collected while the fruit is tender, 
and the husk, or outer pod, is removed ; the kernel, a round fleshy- 
mass, is boiled in water. In the first boiling of the nut, when pro- 
perly done, the water becomes red, thick, and starch-like, and this is 
afterwards evaporated into a substance like gambler or catechu. The 
boiled nuts being now removed, sliced, and dried, the catechu-like 
substance is rubbed on them, and when dried again in the sun they 
become of a shining black colour, and are ready for use. Whole 
nuts without being sliced are also prepared in the same way for use. 
Ripe nuts, as well as young nuts in the raw state, are used by all 
classes of people, and ripe nuts which have been steeped or kept in 
water, are also used by the higher classes. 

At Pedir, Acheen, and other parts of the East, betelnuts are sold 
by the loxa or laxar, which weighs about 168 lbs., and consists of 
10,000 nuts, with from 10 to 25 per cent, added, according to the 
bargain previously made, to make up for nuts which may be worm- 
eaten or otherwise damaged. 

The nut is conical, but varies, in some having an elevated apex 
and small base, in others a large base, and a very slightly elevated 
apex. The nuts are gathered in July and August, though not fully 
ripe till October. The quality of the nuts does not at all depend 
upon their size, but upon their natui'al appearance when cut, indi- 
cating the quantity of astringent matter contained in them. If the 
white or medullary portion which intersects the red or astringent 
part be small, has assumed a bluish tinge, and the astringent part 
itself be red, the nut is considered of good quality ; but when the 
medullary portion is in larger quantity, the nut is considered more 
mature, does not possess so much astringency, and is therefore not 
so much esteemed. 

The areca nut fibre is worthy of notice because of its capability of 
being turned to many useful purposes, especially as it has a soft and 
cotton-like feel, and is capable of being spun into twine. Moreover, 
immense quantities of the husks are now thrown away, and should 
this fibre be found capable of being made into paper, or turned to 
other useful purposes, of which no doubt is entertained, it may be 
collected in large quantities, and at little cost. 

The Nagar division of Mysore, in consequence of its hill tracts 
and moist climate, offers peculiar facilities for the cultivation of this 
palm. So we find almost every hut sheltered by a shady grove of 
these trees, whose slender forms sway with the breeze, and whose 
fringy tops, whilst murmuring amid the mountain solitude, cast a 
fragrance around from their aromatic blossoms. 

The land most congenial to its growth seems to be a level cut on 
the slope of a hill, or some sheltered valley rich in vegetable deposit. 
That it is a tree requiring manuring like the plantain is obvious, from 
the trees requiring trenching and manuring round annually to ensure 
a good crop of nuts. 

The ripe nuts are gathered, and, after being peeled on a sharp 
knife fixed on a board, are cut in two, and dried in the sun. Another 
process is slicing the nut and parboiling it. 



THE BETELNUT PALM. 



285 



The Mysore nut is considered superior to all others, and forms 
four-fifths of the cousumptiou in Madras. 

The nut imported from Ceylon and the western coast is not so 
much appreciated, and commands a much lower price in the market. 

The land devoted to the areca and cocoanut palms in Mysore 
amoimts to 48,000 acres, of which the bulk (43,000 acres) is under 
areca trees. The quantity of betelnuts exported in 1869 was 5069 
tons, valued at 300,486/. 

In the northern coasts of Acheen, especially Pedir, much attention 
is given to the Ai^eca palm, and large quantities of betelnuts are sent 
to Penang and the Coromandel coast. The total production is esti- 
mated at upwards of 700,000 piculs yearly. In 1874 114,843 piculs 
were shipped to Pinang. 

The following table gives the exports of Areca nuts from Ceylon 
for a series of years : 



Year. 


Quantity, 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




cwts. 


£ 




cwts. 


£ 


1S50 


66,254 


42,907 


1863 


68,406 


51,304 


1851 


78,030 


54,806 


1864 


54,326 


40,715 


1852 


71,794 


52,230 


1865 


62,616 


46,962 


1853 


59,396 


46,433 


1866 


94,540 


74,980 
74,369 


1854 


46,209 


32,175 


1867 


99,159 


1855 


47,399 


42,191 


1868 


93,731 


70,298 


1856 


66,429 


50,183 


1869 


67,759 


50,822 


1857 


47,594 
69,088 


45,438 


1870 


76,558 


65,501 


1858 


51,816 


1871 


66,543 


62,594 


1859 


49,972 


11,111 

56,997 


1872 


71,715 


64,966 


■ 1860 


75,996 


1873 


146,484 
129,826 


85,300 


1861 


69,558 


52,168 


1874 


108,730 


1862 


55,372 


41,529 





In Europe there is little demand for betelnuts. Small quantities 
are occasionally received. They are grated and given to horses as a 
preventive of diarrhoea, and bui'nt into charcoal for tooth-powder, 
and sometimes they are tui'ned into small fancy articles, such ,as 
-rosaries, bracelets, etc. 

The leaf of the Betel Pepper (Piper Beth) is inseparable from 
the use of the betelnut, the slices of which are wi'apped in a leaf of 
that plant, over which a small quantity of chunam or lime is spread, 
to which a fine pink colour is given by mixing a little turmeric. 

The shrub is cultivated all over India in most districts. In 1870 
there were 16,000 acres covered with it in Madras. It is planted in 
rows, requires a moist situation and a rather rich soil. 

The plant ha=^ been found wild in Java, which is probably its 
native country, and is extensively cultivated in the Malay countries. 
In Bengal it is grown within a fenced enclosure, covered on all sides 
and on the top by reeds. Its use is considered in the East to be 
conducive to health. It acts as a powerful stimulant to the salivatory 
glands and digestive organs, and has been found to be an excellent 
preservative against scurvy in long sea voyages.* 

* 'The ludigeuous Drug;- of India. 



286 



THE DATE PALM. 



The betel pepper is cultivated at Zanzibar, where the use of the 
betelnut prevails as it does in the Comoro Islands and at Bombay ; 
but the custom is not in vogue in Arabia. The betel palm is also 
grown on the island of Zanzibar. 

The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera, Lin.) flourishes in all the vast 
regions of the tropic of Cancer, from the Atlantic Ocean to the valley 
of the Indus, between 12° and 57° N. lat. Throughout this immense 
space, it is, with the bamboo in Eastern Asia and the cocoanut in the 
equatorial regions, the most precious gift of nature to man, for it 
contributes to all his most essential wants, food, clothing, lodging, 
cooking utensils, &c. 

The date is the special tree of the Saharan regions. Its con- 
stitution, temperament, and habits particularly suit it to the African 
climate, which is especially characterized by the deficiency of rain 
and the digressions of temperatui-e. Its fruit is the soui-ce of 
sustenance for the nomad or sedentary people scattered over its 
immense countries. It is the most common tree in all the valley of 
the Nile, and is found in greatly increasing numbers from the village 
of Ibrim in Lower Nubia to the Mediterranean. The dates of Upper 
Egypt and the Oasis are the most delicate. They are not left to 
ripen on the tree. After being gathered and exposed several days 
to the sun they get ripe, and are then a very fine and sweet fruit. 
The date palm has from two or six to twelve or fourteen spadices. 
When these are too numerous, it becomes requisite to remove some 
in order that the tree may not be weakened or thrown down by the 
weight of the bunches, and the fruit being too numerous would not 
be of such good quality. Four hundredweight of dates have been 
gathered from one tree in Egypt. 

Although the countries where the date flourishes best are charac- 
terized by an absence of rain, it will not fruit without its roots are 
well watered. Hence there is a native proverb that the date must 
have its head in the fire and its roots in the water, proving the neces- 
sity of frequent irrigation. 

The date palm, cultivated and attended to from time immemorial, 
has produced in the hands of the natives as many varieties as our 
most carefully cultivated fruit trees. There are reckoned not less 
than ninety varieties of dates in the Ziban. Dr. Edward Yogel, who 
paid considerable attention to this subject, writing from Murzuk, in 
Feddan, gives a list of thirty-seven kinds, with full descriptions and 
figui'es, in ' Bonplandia.' * The largest (and what appears to be the 
best) is 21J lines long and 10 in diameter ; the smallest 7§ by 5. 
The Arabs enumerate thirty distinct varieties. The different dates 
are of almost every colour except pure white and black. There are 
not, as is the case with our apples and pears, early and late sorts, but 
all arrive at maturity pretty much about the same period (restricted 
to within a fortnight), which falls in Fezzan about the latter part of 
August, in other parts one or more months later. Besides those 
destined for home consumption in the country, dates of a superior 
quality are gathered, and, after being prepared with great care, fetch a 
* Vol. ii. p. 74. 



THE DATE PALM. 



287 



higher price in the markets of Europe. Several Parisian merchants 
within the last few years have given importance to this trade, by- 
proceeding each year to the seat of production in Algeria, and pre- 
paring on the spot, by special modes, large quantities of dates, for 
France, which replace with advantage those formerly procured from 
Tunis and Egypt. The region of Ziban, to the south of the province 
of Constantino, is the part of Algeria where the culture of the date 
occupies the largest surface, is carried on with the greatest care, and 
where the fruit is of the best quality. This region includes nineteen 
oases, of which Biskra is the principal. Laghouat, in the province of 
Alger, is another centre of production. Algeria might take a con- 
siderable part in this commerce by direct communication with 
England, or through Marseilles, of the dates of Laghouat and of 
Constantino, a large part of which are sent from Tunis. 

The principal production of Touggort, Soub, and the oasis in French 
territory, is the date, and there are about 124,300 palms subject to 
taxation, but the total number is nearly double that. Each tree yields 
about 4s. return yearly to its owner. Estimating the average yield 
per tree at 100 lbs., there would be a total product of 62,150 cwt. per 
annum. There are two qualities of dates produced, the Deglet nour, 
the best, which sells at 30 francs the cwt., and the Ghars, or ordinary, 
at 20 francs. 

In Goleah, in the Great Desert, there are about 16,000 date palms, 
of which 14,000 are in full bearing. 

The best trees are those produced from slipped plants. Those 
raised from seeds are much longer in arriving at maturity, and are 
generally poor. When the slip, taken from the foot of the stem of 
an adult tree, is first planted, it must be watered daily for six weeks, 
and every other day for the next six weeks ; after which the trees are 
watered once a week in summer, and every month in winter. 

The nut does not commence to germinate under six months or a 
year after planting, and the growth is very slow in the first two 
years. In a favourable situation it will begin to fruit at six years, 
and lasts to seventy years or more. 

The tree commences to yield fruit about five or six years after 
planting: but it is not till after twenty or twenty-five years that 
it comes into full bearing, and then it will endure for about one 
hundred and fifty years. A date tree in full bearing will produce 
eight or ten bunches, each containing 12 to 20 lbs, of fruit, which, 
at an average of 144 lbs. of dates per tree, is at the rate of 14,400 lbs. 
per hectare (2^ acres).* 

Although there are so many varieties of the date differing in size, 
form, and quality of the fruit, they may chiefly be divided by colour 
into three classes, red, yellow, and whitish. 

The dates, after having been gathered, are dried in the sun, and, 
when quite hard, sometimes buried in the sand. They may thus be 
preserved about two years ; but generally after eighteen months they 
are attacked by worms, and in the beginning of the third year nothing 
remains of them save the stones. As an every-day food, dates are 

* Hardy, " On the Culture of the Date in Algeria," ' Bulletin of the Society of 
Acclimatisation,' Paris, vol. v. p. 63. 



288 



THE DATE PALM. 



considered very heating, in consequence of which they are not much 
used on journeys, as causing great thirst. The most relishing and 
wholesome way to eat them is when made into a paste mixed with 
barley. Each year the lowest ring of leaves falls off, so that the 
age of a palm may be roughly calculated by the notches on the stem. 
It will bear for at least two hundred years, but after a century, 
its fruit begins to decline, and it is generally then cut down for 
building purposes. Each proprietor has a right to two hours' water 
in the day from the stream which passes by his grounds, and this 
right is always specified in the title-deed by which he holds his 
garden. Before the dates are ripe, each family is bound to set 
apart one tree, all the fruit of which is consecrated to the service 
of the Mosque and the use of the poor. From the juice of the 
tree is made a fermented wine or liquor called laguni, of which 
the Arabs are very fond. In its fresh state it has an insipid taste 
like new beer. It is produced in Egypt by simply making an in- 
cision in the top of the tree, reaching the centre. A tube is 
fitted, through which the sap flows into a bamboo-joint vessel. 
The palm thus yields about ten quarts every morning. The 
Egyptians bleed the tree every two months, sometimes every day, 
to prevent the healing of the wound. The operation will kill the 
tree if continued too long, but cautiously practised for a few days, 
will often invigorate a sickly or ill-bearing palm. The cabbage, or 
heart of the date tree, is also eaten, and the taste approaches that of 
a sweet potato, but it is never cut unless the tree has accidentally 
fallen. 

The bunches of fruit are suspended by peduncles as thick as a 
man's fist. The yellow dates are the smallest, and the black gene- 
rally the largest, but there is a larger variety of the yellow date. 
The fruit does not all ripen at once, but each date matures separately, 
and, falling, makes way for another to ripen. 

In this dried state they form the principal food of the Arabs, and 
are esteemed by many other nations. The crushed dates, which 
arrive in Europe in mass, are the inferior and damaged sorts. 

At the time of the collection of the ripe fruit, receptacles, walled 
with masonry, something in the form of large oil jars, are prepared in 
the yards of the houses to hold the dates; these will contain from 
2000 lbs. to 6000 lbs. Men tread the dates d9wn, adding from time 
to time a little water to soften them. An opening is left at the 
bottom to allow the syrupy fluid to be collected. This is eaten with 
butter. In the winter this mass of date paste or cake, is commenced 
upon, and it is so solid that an antelope horn, or some other hard 
tool, has to be used to dig it out.* 

The date palm is found growing in Central Africa according to 
Dr. Baikie, as far south as Lukoja. 

Its various useful products are very numerous. The petiole, or leaf- 
stalk, is employed for fences, and other supports. The tow from the 
leaves is spun, used for stuffing saddles, and serves as tinder. The 
fibre it yields is of use as a textile material ; of it are made ropes 
for wells and cordage for vessels, as it is not impaired by sea water. 

* " The Commerce in Dates in the Souf," ' Explorateur.' Paris, vol. i, p. 310. 



THE DATE PALM. 



289 



The fibre is obtained from the terminal shoot of the tree, and also 
from the leaves. The peduncle which bears the fruit yields a 
very strong thread, of a silvery white, resembling that of the agave, 
which is used in the baths as a friction rubber. From the split 
leaves of the palm, or with its folicles, mats and baskets are made, as 
well as chairs or seats, at a very low price. The trunk is employed as 
posts by carpenters ; the wood is compact, and easily cut into thin 
planks, which take a fine polish. It may, indeed, be called the pine 
wood of the desert, for it is the only long and straight timber to be 
met with in the regions where it flourishes. From the unripe fruit 
spirit and vinegar, and syrup or molasses, can be made. The crushed 
kernels or seeds of the fruit are given as food to domestic animals, 
being greedily eaten by camels, goats, sheep, horses, and dogs. 

In Egypt there are 4,000,000 female date palms grown, and the 
annual production of dates there is estimated at 15,000,000 cwt. 
annually, but they are nearly all locally consumed ; only from 300 to 
700 tons being exported yearly from Alexandria. In Egypt about 
thirty distinct varieties are enumerated. Those best known are a 
stoneless kind, the dates of Assouan, Siout, Edfou, of the oasis near 
Esneh, Helwa, Minieh, and Menchiek. The dates of Upper Egypt 
and the oasis are the most delicate. 

The fine yellow dates of Eosetta and Burlos are preserved, and 
much sought after in Europe, and might become the object of an im- 
portant commerce. In preserving them the epidermis is removed, 
and the two ends cut off ; the stone is taken out by means of a small 
piece of wood, and the fruit thus preserved is boiled in water to 
soften and separate an astringent principle ; they are then placed in 
a bucket to drain, after which they are put in a glazed pot. There is 
then added some hot concentrated sugar, in which they are left for six 
hours. At the end of that time the syrup, having lost its consistency 
by reason of its mixture with the water contained in the dates, is put 
on the fire and concentrated as before. Some more dates are then 
added, in which parched almonds have been placed, or some pistachios 
instead of the stones, in order to keep them from getting out of shape. 
It is then boiled again, until the syrup becomes more solid, and after- 
wards put into earthenware pots. When cool a little pulverised 
sugar, impregnated with essence of lemon, is added to flavour it. 

The principal revenue in Tunis is derived from their excellent 
dates, which are exported in large quantities. According to a recent 
enumeration there were 886,554 date trees in the Djerid, one of the 
most important provinces of the Regency, which are taxed by the 
government. As the young trees are not included, and there are 
grounds for believing the calculations made to be incorrect, it is 
presumed that the total number does not fall much short of 2,000,000, 
which produce 300,000 cwts. of dates, valued in the locality at 
487,000Z. The ordinary kind of dates are made into a paste or 
cake, which forms the staple food of the Bedouin Arabs in the 
Sahara. It is highly nutritious. The dates are sometimes eaten fried 
in butter, or simply with fresh butter uncooked. In former times the 
chief market for dates was Touzer, to which the merchants from 
Ethiopia resorted with slaves, whom they exchanged for a very few 

u 



290 



THE DATE PALM. 



hundredweights of dates, but this traffic has now ceased. There were 
exported from Tunis in 1873 dates valued at 13,036Z. ; in 1874, 7,535?. 
From Tunis in 1871, 37,000 cwt. of dates were shipped direct, but 
owing to the heavy export duty levied upon them, a good many are 
smuggled over the Algerian frontier. The duty is from two to ten 
piastres per cwt. according to quality, those of Degla paying the 
highest rate. From Morocco about 4000 cwt. are sent to the London 
market, 

Bagdad sends away 3000 to 4000 tons of dates yearly. The date 
groves of Bussorah are of great extent and value, forming an almost 
unbroken line of from one to three miles in depth along both banks 
of the Euphrates and Shat-el-Arab, from Medinhab to the sea — that 
is, for more than 140 miles — and yield annually from 40,000 to 
60,000 tons of dates in a good season. In 1869 the produce was 
but 25,000 tons ; in 1870 rather less. Owing to a succession of cold 
north-westerly winds, which prevailed during the spring and early 
summer, while the date palms were still in flower, much of the fruit 
failed to arrive at maturity, and the crop gathered in the autumn was 
both poor and bad. In ordinary years about 33,000 tons are pro- 
duced in the Turkish portion of this district, and 26,000 tons in that 
under Montefik rule. About half the above may be roughly stated as 
consumed in Bussorah and in the interior, and the other half exported 
to the Persian Gulf ports, India, and England. 

The kinds most esteemed are hullowee, zehedi, and khudtherawee ; 
the other varieties, of which there are no less than 36, are known in 
commerce by the common name of sayr. The quantity of each kind 
produced in 1873, and their range of price per ton, according to the 
report of the British consul, was as follows : — 





Quantity. 


Price. 




tons. 


£ 


s. 


d. 




6,404 


15 


16 





Khudtherawee . . 


2,377 


10 


13 







1,937 


13 


15 







412 


10 


12 







24,625 


8 


9 10 



The dried dates are pulverised, and this meal is carried with them 
by the Arabs on journeys. By allowing the dates to ferment in 
water, a vinous beverage is obtained, which is also much esteemed. 
When the fruit has been left to ripen thoroughly on the tree, and has 
attained a fine red colour, it is too soft to be dried, and hence is made 
by pressure into a solid cake or mass called " adjoue," and with us 
"date-cake." A great quantity of this is sent from Bussorah to 
India. The Arabs of Sinai make a date-cake into which they put 
almonds, and then wrap it in skins. These bales of date-cake are 
sold in Cairo during the winter. In travelling, dates soaked in water 
form a mild and refreshing drink. 

The consumption of dates is not large in the United Kingdom, but 
of late years we have no official returns, as the Board of Trade does 



THE DOUM PALM. 



291 



not consider dates and various otter minor fruits worthy of record. 
In 1860 only 11,300 cwt. were received. The imports in later years 
were : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 


cwts. 
33,443 
35,112 
18,775 
93,873 


£ 

35,393 
35,223 
32,957 
70,611 



The Spiny Date {Phoenix spinosus, Thonning) is met with in the 
delta of Nun and Brass, West Africa, and in some parts of Central 
Africa, generally with the oil palms. The leaves are extensively 
employed in Nupe and Zarcya for making fine mats. This palm ex- 
tends from tropical Africa to the Cape Colony, where it is indigenous. 
Dr. Kirk found the green bunches, if immersed in water for half a 
day, suddenly to assume a scarlet hue, and then the astringent pulp 
to become edible and sweet. 

The Wine or Bamboo Palm (BapJiia vinifera, Beauv. ; Sagus 
vinifera, Poiret ; Metroxylon vinifera, Spr.). — This West African palm 
is constant along mouths and in deltas of rivers ; also, according to 
Dr. Baikie, inland, in moist places in Ibo, Benin, Yoruba, Dahomi, 
&c., and still farther from the sea, in Kororofa, Adamawa, Bautsi, 
Yuriya, Gbari, Nupe, Kambari (as far as near to Yauri), Borgu, 
Gurma, and along the road to Gonja. The greatest known distance 
from the sea is the town of Kuno, and more than 400 miles from 
the sea. 

The dried pinnae of the leaves used for making ropes, pretty bags and 
mats, dyed hats, and for tying thatch. Long midrib of leaves, often 
upwards of 30 feet in length, used in construction of roofs of houses, 
for poling canoes, for making seats, couches, &c. The soft inside 
part of this used for making a large kind of mat used in travelling, 
and called by Hansa and Nupe " Memme." Sap used as a kind of 
palm wine, termed Bourdon, and much relished by the drunken 
savages of the coast. Fruit occasionally eaten (the mesocarp), but 
bitter, and in a few places, as in Kiipa, oil is made from it. The fibre 
of the midrib is also woven with cotton into a kind of cloth in Benin 
and Yoruba. 

The DouM Palm of Upper Egypt (Eyphene Thehaica, Mart. ; 
H. crinita, Gaert.), grows away from the sea. The fruit of this is 
much larger than that of the date palm, and is equally nutritious. 
The pulp of the fruit is brown and mealy, and has both the taste and 
colour of gingerbread ; hence one of its common names is the ginger- 
bread tree. The spongy, internal portion of the fruit of this palm 
forms an important article of food, and when mixed with an infusion 
of dates, it constitutes a cooling drink, much prescribed by the Arabs 
in febrile affections as cooling and demulcent. 

The kernel is turned into beads for rosaries, and little perfume 

u 2 



292 



THE DWARF PALM. 



cakes are made of it at Kuno. The leaves are used for mats and the 
best kind of hats in parts of Central Africa. Dr. Baikie states that 
the most southern station for it is Lukoja. 

The Dwarf Palm (CJiamcerops Tiumilis), in Arab called Doum, is 
widely spread over the Algerian Tell, and particularly the depart- 
ments of Alger and Oran. Its presence is a sure indication of good 
soil, in consequence of the depths of its roots, which form at 3 feet 
or more below the surface, an inextricable mass, the removal of which 
renders the clearance of these palms from the soil for cultivation a 
serious and expensive affair. The dry portion of the alluvial plain 
of the littoral is that where they most abound, for they would perish 
in a wet or swampy ground. The value of the leaves has now caused 
the plant to be encouraged rather than destroyed in localities distant 
from towns where land is not very valuable. 

Northern Africa generally is covered and infested with this shrub, 
which multiplies rapidly, and was long the pest and grievance of the 
colonists, who were obliged to grub it up. But now it has become a 
useful aid to industry, and, instead of being considered a barren and 
worthless plant, it has become a source of profit and commerce. 
Properly prepared, the leaves furnish a fibre which, dyed black, 
twisted, and curled, furnishes a vegetable hair, that can be employed 
like horsehair, as a stuffing material in upholstery, or in matting. It 
possesses two advantages over the animal fibre which have led to its 
extensive employment, viz. those of being exempt from insect destruc- 
tion, and 75 per cent, cheaper than horsehair. The leaves are now 
sold on the spot for about two to two and a-half francs the cwt., and 
a man can cut say 400 lbs. a day. It is generally the Arabs and 
Spaniards who apply themselves to this work. The first idea of 
using the leaves of this indigenous plant of Algeria as a substitute 
for horsehair in upholstery is due to a M. Averseng, who took out a 
patent for it in 1847. This manufacturer had great difficulty at first 
in carrying it into execution, but the necessity for cheap articles, 
which increases daily, greatly aided him, and established the repu- 
tation of this substance. If it has not all the good qualities of 
horsehair, it does not want for suppleness and elasticity, and, mixed 
with it, greatly reduces the cost of stuffing in beds and furniture. 
The form in which the raw material is bought for working is after 
the leaves have been combed or stripped. This is a very simple 
operation, which requires but cheap tools, and can be carried on by 
women and children. A good operator on the handful of leaves can 
prepare 90 lbs. to 100 lbs. of dry fibre, which, at the current price of 
12 francs the cwt., gives a return of 5J to 6 francs per day, with the 
mere aid of a child eight or ten years old, to cut off the leaf-stalks 
and gather the leaves into handfuls. Many native families find their 
means of existence in this occupation. The men cut and gather the 
leaves, and the women and children comb and prepare them into 
fibre. This is a new example of union of the two races in labour, 
and a hopeful instance of their permanent fusion in the future. 
The combing or preparing the palm leaves is also a great resource 
for the French colonists in the period of rest between the harvest and 



THE DWARF PALM. 



293 



tlie first labours of autumn. The fibrous thread, when dry, is handed 
over to the manufacturer. The hair, called light or green, is twisted 
and curled in its raw state, and packed. For black the fibre is 
first dyed, by being passed successively through baths of sulphate of 
iron and logwood. It is then twisted, and the cord again dyed. The 
firm of Averseng, of Alger, at their works El. Affroun, works up 
annually 3,500,000 kilogrammes of dry fibre, representing about 
double that quantity of palm leaves, the average yield of fibre being 
about 50 per cent. The price of the undyed fibre is 21 or 22 francs 
the cwt., of good black dyed, 29 or 30 francs, and of superior, 35 to 
38 francs. In the department of Oran, Messrs. Giraud Brothers, 
in their large enclosed works at Eckmuhl, covering a space of 5 
acres, prepare daily 60 bales of 2 cwt. each. The combing is effected 
by means of drums with needles and knives, worked by a 12-horse 
power steam engine, at a speed of 300 revolutions per minute. 

They also heat their dye vats by steam, which is much more eco- 
nomical than the application of direct heat. Another Algerian firm, 
J. and J. Mathieu, whose factory is at Arbra du Dgendel, in the 
plains of Cheliff, by a particular process, prepare a black and brilliant 
crin vegetal without smell or dust, of which they turn out 1000 cwt. 
a month at 30 francs the cwt., the undyed being sold at 20 francs. 
This fibre, like the esparto, is also twisted into ropes and cables. It 
has long been used as a paper-material in conjunction with esparto 
and rags. The ' Akbar,' a newspaper of Algiers, is printed on paper of 
this kind, and quantities have been imported from time to time for 
use at Lloyd's paper mills at Bow. It is not, however, held in much 
estimation for paper-making, as there is a good deal of waste from the 
tough leaf-stalks, and it requires a considerable quantity of chemicals 
to bleach it. In 1857 the export of leaves of the dwarf palm from 
Algeria was to the value of 24,000 francs, crin vegetal, 763,000 francs. 
The shipments of crin vegetal, which were only 19,000 lbs. in 1845, 
reached 316.000 lbs. in 1853, were doubled two years later, quad- 
rupled in the space of four years, and in 1860 amounted to nearly 
2,500,000 lbs. In 1865 they had reached treble that amount. 
44,000 cwts. of crin vegetal was shipped from Algeria in 1868, and 
the value of the fibre prepared in that year in the colony is stated to 
have been about 90,000Z. 

The following figures show the exports (always progressive) of 
later years, in kilogrammes, besides a small quantity of rough leaves : 



Year. 


Crin Vegetal. 


Leaves. 


1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 


4,835,630 
3,851,282 
4,252,789 
9,011,919 


14,085 
65,436 
1,171,737 
199,100 



The quantity of this vegetable hair sent to foreign countries in 
1872 was 2,394,000 kilogrammes. The shipments, which were for- 
merly limited to France, are now extending rapidly, demands having 
sprung up in various countries, especially in England. 



294 



THE DWARF PALM, 



The first shipments of rough palm leaves for paper-making were 
made about 1852, and the following have been the exports since : 



Kilos. 

1852 55,820 

1853 15,187 

1854 207,336 

1855 294,160 

1856 502,805 



Kilos. 

1857 24,460 

1858 17,482 

1859 131,685 

1860 26,159 

1861 91,723 



In 1871 it reached the largest quantity, 1,171,737 kilogrammes ; 
since then it has dropped again. 

There is an extensive trade carried on in other palm leaves, such as 
the Palmetto of the Americans [Sahal Palmetto, Lodd.), the Thrinax 
argentea, furnishes a sinnet, or chip, which is woven into hats, and 
thei:e is a large import of palm leaves for plaiting, into China, but these 
scarcely deserve special detailed enumeration; suffice it to say, that 
there was imported into the port of Shanghai, in 1871, 4,755,117 
piculs of untrimmed palm leaves, and 231,091 trimmed palm leaves 
for making fans. 

The Attalea genus of palms are nearly all natives of Brazil ; one 
or two species yield the valuable brush fibre known as Piassaba, and 
a species common to British Honduras (A. Cohune, Mart.), was recom- 
mended to notice some years ago, from the fact of its nuts yielding a 
good, useful, white oil. 



( 295 ) 



SECTION III. 



THE TROPICAL CEREALS AND STARCH- 
PRODUCING PLANTS. 

INDIAN CORN. 

The importance and value of Indian Corn (Zea Mays) in tropical 
and semitropical countries, are too well known to need illustration. 
On every part of the globe where the hand of civilization has broken 
the turf, this beautiful grain receives a large share of attention. In 
the western continent it is raised from Canada to Patagonia and the 
islands of the South Seas, through almost every variety of climate 
and people, and over an extent, from north to south, of more than 
7000 miles. It was introduced into Africa by the Portuguese in the 
sixteenth century, and is cultivated more or less from the Mediterra- 
nean Sea and the Libyan Desert to the Cape of Good Hope. In Java 
and the Asiatic isles it forms an important product. In Central 
Asia it is known and valued, as well as in Australia and the islands of 
the Indian Ocean. In Europe it is extensively produced in Hungary, 
Lombardy, France, and Spain, and we might almost say from the 
Ural chain to the Atlantic. No grain could secure such favours from 
all parts of the world except from its intrinsic value. No other 
cereal, in fact, except rice, is so extensively cultivated. 

Its flexibility of organization makes it very easy of adaptation to 
climate and soil. Though it prefers moist and rich soils, with strong 
heats, there are varieties of it which can be raised in tropical climates, 
at a height of more than 9000 feet above the level of the sea. The 
warmest regions of the torrid zone produce maize in abundance, 
where three crops can be taken in a season, while the short summers 
of Canada have a variety adapted to them. This cannot be said of 
rice, which requires great heat, and cannot endure a climate of high 
latitude. 

Indian corn ripens at a time when most other grains have been 
harvested; it therefore furnishes employment, when there would 
naturally be but little else to do. But what gives to Indian corn its 
great importance is the actual amount of nutritive matter which it 
contains. It is said to be third in this respect, wheat and rice con- 
taining a somewhat greater amount, though many place maize second 
only to wheat. 

No plant is more beautiful, and none so well suited to the varieties 



296 



INDIAN CORN. 



of climate ; for, anywhere between the 43rd degree of north latitude 
and a corresponding parallel south, it may be grown in the greatest 
perfection. Its ease of hybridization has produced innumerable 
varieties, suited to every kind of soil and every degree of temperature, 
from the time-enduring hard corn of Canada, to the Sto wells' ever- 
green for boiling in the unripe state. We have it suited to summers, 
varying from three to six months; thus we find it in the north 
requiring but half the time for its growth that is requisite in the 
south, and still in each locality are kinds appropriate to the different 
lengths of summers. 

United States. — We may say of the Indian corn crop of America 
what Mr. Webster said of the turnip crop of England, that " its failure 
for three successive years would nearly bankrupt the nation." 

Fortunately, however, by the recent improvements in agriculture, 
they are enabled, in the growth of this crop, almost to defy drought, 
and to render every variety of soil suitable for the production of 
maximum quantities. It is the food of both man and animals ; and 
even its stalks, by proper treatment, have been rendered equal 
in value to the whole labour and expense of raising the crop. 
To it America is indebted for her fine beef, her plentiful supply of 
pork, and also as an article of human food. It is the plant of the 
country ; and the olive branch might with propriety be taken from 
the claw of the national emblem, and the Indian corn plant substituted 
in its place. In proof of the American origin of this plant, it may 
be stated that it is still found growing in a wild state from the Rocky 
Mountains to the humid forests of Paraguay, where, instead of having 
each grain naked, as is always the case after long cultivation, it is 
completely covered with glumes, or husks. Columbus found the 
natives of Hispaniola cultivating it in extensive fields, and those 
of other places visited by him were also in possession of it. The first 
Englishmen by whom it was cultivated, were they who settled in 
Virginia in 1760. 

In England all cereals used as food for man are called " corn ; " but 
those who first landed in America from that country found a new 
cereal, also used as food by the aborigines. They added it to their 
catalogue of corn with the prefix of Indian. As it had been for ages 
the main dependence of the Indians, so it has since become the real 
staff of life to thirty millions who now occupy their places, while it is 
gradually making its way to favour among other millions in Europe. 
The pioneers give no accounts of the Indians having many varieties of 
corn. They seem to have been content with what they had. The 
higher civilization of the whites quickly seized on the new cereal, 
recognized its value as food for man and beast, improved its culture, 
multiplied its varieties, made its increase a hundredfold, and, by the 
invention of machines for shelling it rapidly, and grinding it cheaply, 
raised it to the position of a staple so important, that if the whole wheat 
crop of America were suddenly annihilated, the maize crop alone would 
supply the people plenteously with food. It already equals the wheat 
crop of the whole world. The latter can be profitably cultivated 
only within certain latitudes, but Indian corn grows luxuriantly in 
all. The border States of the tropics refuse to yield wheat. Louisi- 



INDIAN CORN. 



297 



ana and Florida produce but 10,000 bushels annually, but nearly 
9,750,000 bushels of corn. 

The annual average wheat crop of the world is about 760,000,000 
bushels, of which nearly 290,000,000 may be credited to the United 
States. In 1875-76 her Indian corn crop averaged 1,300,000,000 
bushels, thus exceeding the wheat crop of the whole earth. 

It is a remarkable fact in connection with this subject that, al- 
though the experience of the people of the entire American continent 
bears uniform testimony in favour of the palatableness, the healthful- 
ness, and the economy of Indian corn, it is but little known to the 
people of those portions of Europe to whom cheap food is the great 
desideratum. The famine of 184:7 brought it prominently into notice 
here, and once having tasted it, even after imperfect cooking, it has 
secured a thorough foothold. European chemists have discovered that 
while Indian corn contains 77 per cent, of nutritive matter, wheat con- 
tains 95. When a bushel of wheat is worth 95 cents, one of Indian 
corn is worth 77 cents, nutriment alone considered ; yet when corn 
has stood at ^1 per bushel, wheat has stood at ^2 50 c. ; thus, in buy- 
ing wheat, we obtain, for any given amount of money, a little less 
than half the nutriment we obtain when buying Indian corn. Why 
this disparity in price ? It must be mainly sought for in supply and 
demand. Wheat is relished by a greater portion of the human 
family ; it may be kept sweet more readily in any of its stages of 
manufacture, whether stationary, or during transportation by sea or 
land ; hence its superior commercial value. Then, all the world is 
familiar with it as an article of food, while not a tenth of its popu- 
lation ever heard of Indian corn. Wheat needs no introduction 
among any people, while maize has required thorough judicious and 
persistent effort by European Governments to induce even famishing 
communities to consume it. 

It is well known that residents in American cities are small con- 
sumers of Indian corn, in comparison with those who live in rural 
districts. This is because the former do not so well understand the 
art of cooking it in the numerous forms of which it is susceptible. 
No wonder that European nations, to whom the grain and meal are 
novelties, should be more ignorant of their value, and should there- 
fore refuse to consume them. But since 1855 the Prussian Govern- 
ment has left no means untried to ascertain the best mode of preparing 
corn bread. As corn meal, even when the dough is nicely risen, 
always falls when placed in the oven, producing an unsatisfactory 
bread, a multitude of experiments were tried with mixtures of potato 
flour, wheat, rye, and other substances. Eye flour was found to be 
the best. But most of these experiments were, unfortunately, made 
with meal which had soured before reaching Berlin. Finding it to 
be coarsely ground, the operators caused it to be ground very fine, 
not knowing that no kind of grain is spoiled by fine grinding except 
Indian corn. In spite of these discouragements, Germany is annually 
consuming larger quantities, as her people are better acquainted 
with the article. In England and Ireland it has become permanently 
domesticated. Its introduction has been slow, but nothing seems 
more certain than that a few years hence will witness an enormous 



298 



INDIAN COEN. 



European demand, not the result of famine, but of popular appreci- 
ation of this cheap and wholesome staple. 

The prejudice existing against the use of maize as an article of 
human food, among certain classes of people, is surprising, and this 
prejudice is based on ignorance. It is seldom found in Irish or 
English kitchens, although millions of bushels are exported to 
England every year. The people there are strangers to those New 
England luxuries, corn bread and puddings, and we suppose it will be 
a long time before they will know anything of them. 

Indian corn is one of the most important and healthful articles of 
human food that a beneficent Providence has bestowed upon man ; and 
to its high nutritive value is due in a large degree the strength and 
vigour of the race of men who laid the foundations of the great 
American republic. It was much more largely used fifty or one 
hundred years ago than now, as fine wheat flour, for some not well- 
founded reason, has usurped its place in bread-making. In the 
several forms, however, of hulled corn, popped corn, hominy samp, 
corn starch, maizena, &c., vast quantities are consumed by all classes 
of people in America. 

Meal from Indian corn contains more than four times as much 
oleaginous matter as wheat flour, more starch, and nearly as much 
nitrogenous material ; consequently in all cold climates it is admir- 
ably adapted to sustain the system by furnishing heat-forming com- 
pounds. The oil gives warmth, the nitrogenous principle gives 
muscular strength. The combination of alimentary compounds in 
Indian corn renders it alone the mixed diet capable of sustaining 
man under the most extraordinary circumstances. It holds the 
elementary principles which constitute the basis of organic life. In 
this particular it is more remarkable than any other vegetable pro- 
duction known to man. There is a large number of dislies of which 
corn meal forms the basis, which are exceedingly palatable. What, 
for instance, is more delicious than cold corn-pudding, cut in slices 
and fried in sweet butter or lard ? Hot corn-cakes, when properly 
and skilfully made, are almost universally regarded as a luxury, and 
Boston brown bread is famous everywhere in the country. The reason 
why corn meal is not more largely used at the present time is that it 
is quite difficult to obtain it of dealers or grocers in a perfectly pure 
and sweet state. Millers grind the corn as it comes from the West, 
mixed with portions of the cob and saturated with dust and dirt, and 
this is sold for kitchen as well as for stable use. Much of the 
western corn is damaged in transportation, and this is ground up with 
that which is sound. If good, sweet, northern corn is properly ground in 
an old-fashioned stone mill, after being winnowed to free it from dust, 
a meal will result of a rich golden colour, and no dish can be pre- 
pared from it which will not be palatable and most nutritious. 

Maize flour, even of the finest quality, cannot be baked alone into 
bread. It ferments like other flour, but the dough falls in the oven, 
and gives a compact, soap-like loaf, which could not be eaten daily. 
A certain quantity of some other substance must be mixed with it to 
make a good bread — a third part of wheat, rye, or potato fecula is 
sufficient for this purpose. 



INDIAN CORN. 



299 



In the process of kiln drying, to preserve maize for transport, it is 
subjected to a degree of heat not greater than 212° Fahr. sufficiently 
long to destroy its germinating power ; but not long enough to parch 
or cook it so as to impair its substance or nutritive properties. 
Kiln drying, however, injures the flavour of corn of all kinds. 

An American paper well remarks : " The great difference in the 
consumption of this staple agricultural product in America and 
Europe is to be ascribed to the ignorance of the people abroad of the 
mode of preparing it for use in the form of bread. During the famine 
in Ireland immense quantities of Indian meal were exported to that 
island^ to be made up into bread ; but necessitous and starving as the 
people were, they could not be induced to eat it except when mixed 
with rye or wheat. Some one or more experts were sent over, com- 
missioned to instruct the natives in the mystery of making corn- 
bread, but they were as ignorant of the art as the Irish themselves. 
The fact is, the people in the Northern States, and even in our large 
cities in the South, are not skilled in making bread from corn ; they 
can make an article which is called by that name, and prepared as it 
is with milk, eggs and other condiments, it is very nice as a delicacy ; 
but it is not the veritable article, and no more resembling it in form, 
substance, and taste than it does pound-cake. In fact the corn bread, 
so called, as we find it on the table of our city friends, more resembles 
cake than the healthful, substantial and nourishing poue of the 
country. We have never yet seen a professed cook who could make 
good corn bread. We very much doubt if any but a plantation negro 
can make the genuine article. We are very certain that a lady house- 
keeper cannot make it — she would be sure to make it too nice for 
every-day habitual food. We are very confident that if the simple 
art of making corn bread were generally understood, its consumption 
would be indefinitely increased." 

The uses of oil in Indian corn are manifold. It is obviously to 
protect the grain from rapid decomposition in the soil, from long-con- 
tinued wet, and to retain a portion of food until needed by the young 
plant, as the oil is uniformly the last portion of the grain taken up. 
It serves to keep meal from souring readily, as flint-corn meal will 
keep sweet for years, even when put up in large quantities, while the 
Tuscorara meal will sour in a short time. There is from six to 
twelve per cent, of oil in corn, that of southern growth containing less 
than northern. The colours of Indian corn depend on that of the 
epidermis, or hull, of the oil — the latter, when yellow, showing its 
colour through a transparent epidermis. In white varieties the oil is 
translucent and colourless, and the epidermis being also free from 
colour, the meal is white. The golden Sioux, a twelve rowed variety, 
is coloured by the oil. Eed and blue owe their lively hues to the 
colours of the epidermis, and not to the oil. On inspecting very thin 
slices of corn under the microscope, the epidermis is found to be made 
up of hexagonal cells, much larger than those of the glutinous and 
oily parts of the grain. The starch globules are distinctly seen in 
the starchy, part; a drop of diluted tincture of iodine brings out 
their forms and character with beautiful distinctness. The phos- 
phates are probably in the state of a fine powder, while the ammonia 



300 



INDIAN CORN. 



is, in combination with the organic mattere, forming a kind of amidon 
in the mucilage around the germ. 

The ingredients concentrated by nature in a grain of corn are all 
essential to a highly nutritious food. The gluten and mucilage 
contain nitrogen, an element essential to the formation of fibrous 
tissue, muscle, nervous matter, and brain. The oil is nearly formed 
fat, easily convertible into animal oils by a slight change of composi- 
tion. Starch is also convertible into fat, and into the carbonaceous 
substance of the body ; and during its slow combustion in the circula- 
tion gives out a portion of the heat of animal bodies, while in its 
altered state it goes to form a part of the living frame. From the 
phosphates are derived the substance of bone, as well as the saline 
matters of brain, nerves, and other solid and fluid parts of the body. 
The salts of iron go to the blood, and there constitute an essential 
portion of it, enabling it, by successive alterations of its degree of 
oxidation during the circulation through lungs, arteries, extreme 
vessels, and veins, to transport oxygen to every part of the body. 
Indian corn therefore contains all the elements required for the 
perfect development and support of the bodies of animals. 

Dr. Salisbury has furnished the analysis of five leading varieties 
of Indian corn : — 1. Golden Sioux, bright-yellow, twelve-rowed, fre- 
quently having fourteen rows. 2. Large eight-rowed yellow. 3. Small 
eight-rowed. 4. White flint. 5. Ohio Dent, one of the largest 
varieties. 



Constituents. 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 




36 


•06 


40 


•85 


30-29 


49-22 


40-34 


Gluten 


5 


•00 


4 


•62 


5-69 


5-40 


7-69 




3 




8 


•88 


3-90 


3-71 


4-68 




4 


42 


2 


•64 


6-00 


3-32 


3-40 




1 


92 


1 


•32 


2-20 


0-75 


0-50 




1 


30 


5 


•40 


4-61 


1-90 


3-00 


Fibre 


18 


50 


21 


•36 


26-80 


11-96 


18-01 


Sugar and extract . . 


7 


25 


10 


00 


5-20 


9-55 


8-30 




15 


02 


10 


•00 


13-40 


14-00 


14-00 



The male flower is the plume at the top of the stem, which blos- 
soms like wheat, and evolves an immense quantity of pollen, which, 
wafted about by the wind, fertilizes the female portion of the plant 
(the ears or future cobs) which spring forth from the junction of a 
leaf with the stalk. These are at first a mere tassel of delicate 
threads ; there is one of these to every incipient grain of corn ; they 
receive the pollen of the tassel and are fertilized at once. If any 
thread is injured or broken, the grain belonging to it is lost ; if all 
are fertilized, the ear is beautifully regular and complete. Where 
purity of kind is required, only one variety must be sown. 

Maize may be divided into two kinds, table maize and farm maize. 
Only the white Georgian maize is used by the Americans for table 
purposes, all the yellow varieties for flour and cattle food. Besides 



INDIAN CORN. 



301 



being useful for human food, Indian corn meal is excellent for fatten- 
ing stock, milch cows, sheep, and poultry. It is much used in dry 
summers in the States as green forage, the stems being then very sweet 
and agreeable to cattle. Where much Indian corn is grown in 
America, the husks of the ears are saved, and used for stuffing mat- 
tresses, bolsters, &c., and it is a material always clean, sweet, and 
elastic. Paper is also made of a good quality for wrapping. The 
dry stems and leaves also make fair fodder for cattle. 

The limits fixed by many agriculturists for the culture of this 
cereal are very incorrect, as there is such an immense number of 
varieties. Parmentier rightly signalizes this cereal as created for the 
whole world, and as suiting itself to all climates. There is a short- 
stalked maize, which suffers little from the action of the wind, and can 
be planted in the north of France in double rows like the maize of 
Auxonne and Burgimdy. It has been found that 35 to 40 hectolitres 
can be obtained per hectare, weighing from 76 to 80 kilogrammes 
per hectolitre. 

It is, however, in America that its value has been demonstrated. 
There a couple of million farmers are engaged in the raising of maize ; 
some lands producing 20 bushels to the acre, and others 150, swelling 
the aggregate crop of the nation to vast proportions, the corn crop 
amounting to several hundred million dollars in value. The grain 
produced is sufficient to feed not only the population of the United 
States, but half that of Europe in addition, for a year. It possesses 
another value, which, under present circumstances, is an important 
one. The sheathing leaf is the best adapted for paper of any material 
yet tried. It was used in the manufacture of paper in Italy last 
century, but the manufacture declined from obvious causes. Some 
years ago the process was again taken up in Austria and in Switzer- 
land. The paper made from it was reported to be much better than 
that from rags, being stronger and more tenacious, and very little 
size being requisite. It has none of the brittleness peculiar to 
ordinary straw paper. Maize paper appears to be the most unexcep- 
tionable of all the papers not made from rags. Not only is it re- 
markably tough, but it is devoid of the silicious matter which proves 
so embarrassing in ordinary straw paper, causing great brittleness 
when folding, and rapidly destroying the face of printers' type. There 
are large manufactories of the maize stalk in Austria ; the ' Algemaine 
Zeitung ' is said to be exclusively printed on it. The extreme tough- 
ness of the paper makes it particularly eligible for bank-note paper, 
and for the purpose of envelopes. The colour is somewhat yel- 
lowish, but it is easily bleached. 

Indian corn or maize is the staple and peculiar food crop of the 
United States, although it is also grown in many other countries ; 
but there it is harvested by hundreds of millions of bushels per 
annum. Whenever Europe is short of food, America stands ready 
to supply the deficiency with the excess of her corn crop, the super- 
abundance of which she is obliged at present to fatten swine and live 
stock on, or to convert into whisky. 

All the endeavours used by Cobbett and others since his time have 



302 



INDIAN CORN. 



failed to make maize a popular grain, or its meal much relished 
in Europe, and yet a number of excellent food products, as has 
been stated, may be obtained from it. 

The soil best adapted to the crop is a sandy alluvial ; next to this, 
a gravelly or slaty loam. Stiff clay is very objectionable. The most 
approved manner of cultivation is as follows : Manure a clover-lay 
with long unrotten manure, at the rate of twenty-five cubic yards to 
the acre ; plough the same under not less than seven inches deep, 
either in the autumn or spring. If the lay is old and stiff, plough 
it early in autumn, if not, in the spring. Before planting, harrow and 
pulverize the soil as much as possible. Then mark out with a light 
plough, or an implement used to mark four rows at a time, in squares 
of 3 feet. Drop in four to six grains at each crossing, covering 
with the hand hoe lightly, not more than 2 inches deep. The drill 
'barrow (Emery's) is coming much into favour for planting large 
crops. It is a great labour-saving machine ; it marks the rows, 
drops the seed at any required distance, and covers it in by once 
passing over the land. Drawn by a single horse, it will plant from 
ten to twelve acres per day. Soon after the plant appears above 
ground, a top-dressing of gypsum, ashes, or lime, or a compost of all 
of these, is usually applied, an ordinary handful to each hill. Soon 
after the leaf begins to expand, the cultivator, or horse hoe, is run 
between the rows, and the soil loosened and pulverized as much 
as possible, followed by the hand hoe, that the surface may be made 
clean of weeds and grass. After the plant is four or five inches 
high go through again with the cultivator, and follow with the hand 
hoe ; clean the crop, and thin it to not more than four stalks in 
each hill ; if in drills, the rows should be 3 feet apart, and the 
plants 1 foot apart in the row. The crop requires close attention, 
and if the soil becomes stiff and hard, some implement to loosen it 
should be used again ; but usually two thorough workings are suffi- 
cient. After the grain becomes glazed, the stalks are cut close to 
the ground, and set up in small stouts or shocks, to cure. In the 
course of thirty days the corn is fit to husk and house ; and the 
stalks, which may be stacked or housed, make a great deal of excellent 
winter fodder for cattle. All the different varieties are cultivated 
in the same manner. The yellow and white are the only varieties 
that are grown to much extent. The yellow generally makes the best 
crop, and will usually mature in about one hundred days after 
planting. The time preferred for planting in the State of New York 
is from the 15th to the 25th of May. 

The varieties of corn are numerous, and are continually increasing 
by improvement, and the introduction of seed from one section to 
another. It would be almost impossible to enumerate the many 
varieties now cultivated, or to give the reasons why one is preferred 
above the others. With proper cultivation in an ordinary season, 
the crop should not be less than 60 bushels to the acre ; 100 bushels 
is not an uncommon yield. The New York State Agricultural 
Society require a yield of 80 bushels to the acre, to be entitled to a 
premium. 



INDIAN CORN. 



303 



Here are the names of seventeen varieties grown there : 



No. 1. Dutton corn. 

2. Eight-rowed yellow. 

3. Sweet corn. 

4. Eight-rowed white. 

5. Bed blaze. 

6. Sixteen-rowed Dutton. 

7. Twelve-rowed red. 

8. Sixteen-rowed red. 

9. Early Canada. 



No. 10, Eed pop. 

11. Blue pop. 

12. White pop. 

13. Yellow pop. 

14. Mixed pop. 

15. Eight-rowed yellow. 

16. Ohio flint. 

17. Eocky Mountain corn. 



Two hundred varieties of Indian corn were shown at the London 
Exhibition of 1862, from the Modena Royal Botanical Gardens, col- 
lected by the late Professor Giovanni Brignoli, and thirty-five varieties 
by Professor Parlatore of Turin. 

Common preference, as well as chemical analysis, proves that the 
round northern yellow variety contains the most nutriment, and is in 
all respects best adapted for the consumption of people living in high 
latitudes. The white variety, by its resemblance to wheaten flour 
when manufactured, meets with a ready sale where the difference is 
not known, or where appearance is alone consulted. There are a 
great number of varieties of corn in cultivation, and these have 
become considerably intermingled. The principal ones, which may 
be distinguished by the number of rows or grains on the cob, and 
the colour, shape, or size of the kernels, may be classified and 
described as follows : 

1. Yellow Com. — Golden Sioux, or northern flint corn, having a 
large cob with twelve rows of moderate-sized grains; very oily. 
This is regarded as one of the best varieties for fattening animals, 
or for human food. By skilful tillage, 130 bushels have been raised 
to the acre, weighing 9216 lbs. in the ear ; when dry, 75 lbs. of ear 
gave a bushel of corn shelled. 

2. King Philip, or the eight-rowed yellow corn. Its ears, which 
contain only eight rows, are longer than those of the Golden Sioux, 
and it will yield about the same quantity of oil. It is a hardy plant 
which belongs to a high latitude ; grows to about nine feet in height ; 
stalks small ; ears from ten to fourteen inches in length. 

3. Canada Corn, or eighteen-rowed yellow corn, which is smaller, 
earlier, and more solid than any of the preceding, contains more oil 
than any other variety, except the rice corn and the pop corn. It is 
exceedingly valuable for fattening poultry, swine, &c., and is grown 
by many in gardens for early boiling. 

4. Button Corn. — The cob sometimes grows to a length of fourteen 
or fifteen inches, but the grain is so compact on it, that two bushels 
of small ears have yielded five pecks of shelled corn, weighing 62 lbs. 
to the bushel. With proper management, an acre of ground will 
yield one hundred to one hundred and twenty bushels to the acre. 
As it is very Oily, gives a good yield, and ripens early, it has always 
been a favourite variety for culture in the North. 

5. Southern Big Yellow Corn. — The cob of this corn is thick and 
long, the grain much wider than it is deep, and the rows unite with 



304 



INDIAN CORN. 



each other. The grain contains less oil and more starch than the 
northern flint kinds ; yet its outward texture is somewhat flinty, solid, 
and firm. It comes to maturity rather later, affords an abundant 
yield, and is much used for fattening animals. 

6. Southern Small Yellow Corn. — The grains of this variety are 
about the size and shape of those of the Tuscarora corn, but differ 
from them in containing an abundance ol transparent colourless oil, 
which may be easily seen through the clear pellucid hulls. The 
farinaceous parts of the grains are white, and as the quantity of oil 
which they contain is large, the flour or meal is more substantial as 
an article of food, and less liable to ferment and become sour. 

7. Southern Little White Flint Corn. — The kernels of this variety 
tixe smaller than those of the preceding, and much resemble them in 
Bhape, but they are more firm and solid, contain more oil, and conse- 
quently are of greater value for feeding poultry and swine, and for 
human food. 

8. Button White Flint Corn. — A variety, not differing materially 
from the yellow Button corn, except in the colour of the oil. 

9. Early Canadian White Flint Corn. — Cultivated principally for 
early boiling and roasting while green. 

10. Tuscarora Corn. — The ears contain from twelve to sixteen rows 
of grain, which are nearly as deep as they are broad, of a dead whitish 
colour on the extreme end, and entirely composed within of pure white 
dextrine, except the germs. As it contains neither gluten nor oil, it 
may be profitably employed in the manufacture of starch. It is much 
softer and better food for horses than the flinty kind, and if used 
before it becomes sour, may be converted into excellent bread. It 
is also an excellent variety for boiling when green, or in the milky 
state. 

11. Fine White Flint Corn. — The ears of this variety contain twelve 
rows of rather white, roundish, thick grains which are filled with a 
snowy white flour composed principally of starch, but contains neither 
gluten nor oil. As it possesses similar properties with the preceding 
variety, it may be profitably used for the same purpose. It is also 
an excellent variety for boiling, when green. 

12. Virginia White Seed Corn. — The ears of this corn, which are not 
very long (nor is the cob so long as those of the big white or yellow 
flint), contain from twenty-four to thirty-six rows of very long 
narrow grains. These at their extreme ends are almost flat, and grow 
so closely together from the cob to the surface, that they produce a 
greater yield than any other variety in proportion to the size of the 
ears. They contain more starch, and less gluten and oil than those 
of the flint kinds, and from their softness serve as better food for 
horses, but are less nourishing to poultry and swine. This variety 
ripens later, though it is more productive than any other kind. 

13. Early Sweet Corn. — There are two kinds of this corn ; one with 
the cob red, and the other white. The ears are short, and usually 
contain eight rows, the grains of which, when mature, are of a higher 
colour, and become shrivelled, appearing as if they were unripe. It 
contains a very large proportion of the phosphates, and a considerable 
quantity of sugar and gum, though but little starch. It is extensively 



INDIAN CORN. 



305 



cultivated for culinary purposes, and is delicious food when boiled 
green. 

14. Bice Corn. — A small variety, with small conical ears, the kernel 
terminating in sharp points which give them the appearance of burrs ; 
the kernels in size and shape something like rice. It contains more 
oil and less starch than any other kind, and when ground, its meal 
cannot be made into bread alone, but is dry like sand. From its 
oily nature and peculiar size this corn is well adapted for feeding 
poultry. 

15. Pearl Corn, commonly called pop corn, from the fact of its 
being used for popping or parching. The ears of this variety are 
small, the grains are sound, of various shades of colour, the white 
of a pearly appearance ; and contains with the rice corn more oil and 
less starch than any other variety. 

16. Chinese Tree Corn. — This is a pure white variety, a very hand- 
some ear, about ten inches long, has ten rows, grain very closely set, 
long and wedge-shaped, well filled out to the end of the cob, some of 
the grains slightly indented. One peculiarity of this corn is, the 
ears grow on the buds of the branches, hence its name tree corn. 
It is said to yield from one-third to one-fourth more than the common 
varieties ; when ground into meal it is handsomer and better flavoured 
than the common varieties of white corn. There are generally two 
ears on a stalk, and often three. 

There are many other varieties, but the foregoing list embraces 
pretty nearly all those worthy of cultivation. 

In New Mexico the colours of the grain are numerous — blue, 
yellow, white, and even jet black. Blue seems to be the predominant 
colour, and is esteemed by the natives as the richest of all, being 
almost universally used by them in making the tortilla^ or corn cake. 
This is the only shape in which they prepare Indian corn for the 
table. 

The culture which will answer for the small farmers of the 
Atlantic seaboard would be impracticable in the immense corn fields 
of the far West ; for the amount of labour which may be judiciously 
and profitably applied in the former would be impossible in the 
latter, and hence it will be necessary to state the methods applicable 
to different districts. Land at ^200 dollars per acre and at ^5 per 
acre cannot generally be manured alike, even although their con- 
stituents and requirements may be the same ; for the cheaper lands 
are so far from the manufacturing districts that in some cases the 
necessary fertilisers to be used as manure for the soil cannot be 
obtained, and the scarcity and high price of labour give rise to the 
necessity for the use of implements by horsepower in place of any 
other mode of culture, and that too of the simplest and most expe- 
ditious kind. The roots of the Indian corn plant, in soil prepared 
to admit of their full ramification, will average in length 5J feet, 
and hence the necessity of deep and subsoil ploughing for this 
crop must be evident to all. When the constituents of this plant are 
considered, it will be evident that its inorganic requirements, obtained 
principally in many places from the subsoil, render deep disintegration 
necessary. It will also be evident that soils habitually wet cannot be 



306 



INDIAN CORN. 



profitably employed in the growth of corn without thorough drainage; 
for until surplus water ceases to occupy the spaces between the par- 
ticles of earth, atmospheric air cannot enter. Nor can the pulverulent 
condition of the soil result from this disturbance by the plough 
during the growth of this crop, if partially immersed in water, for 
the surplus water, acting as a lubricator to the particles, causes them 
to settle in so compact a form that the com roots cannot travel freely 
in search of their proper aliment. The different modes of culture 
adopted should always embrace such manipulations as will give the 
greatest amount of disturbance to the soil with the least amount of 
abrasion to the roots of corn, hence the original preparation of the 
soil before planting should be such as to secure the most mellow con- 
dition, and to the greatest depth. This will be perfect security 
against drought ; for wherever air can circulate among particles of 
soil colder than itself it will deposit moisture ; therefore, com grown 
on subsoiled land free from excess of water never suffers from 
drought. The after cultivation during the growth of the crop should 
be such as to render the surface at all times penetrable to the atmo- 
sphere and free from parasitic growth. 

Planting Corn. — The seed may be prepared by any of the usual 
steeps which are known to protect from the ravages of insects, &c., 
during its early growth, and to stimulate its early germination until 
ready to throw forth its roots. Among these may be named dilute 
sulphate of ammonia, saltpetre very dilute, cubical nitre, &c. 

Preparation of the Soil. — After thorough preparation of the soil by 
deep and subsoil ploughing, and the addition of such amendments as 
analysis may prove to be necessary, the corn should be planted at 
slight depths in hills 4 feet apart in every direction, which will admit 
of more thorough cultivation in both directions than if planted in 
rows. I cannot but suggest that in the final preparation of the soil 
before planting, it would be well to run the subsoil plough at a full 
depth in striking out the rows ; this having been done in both direc- 
tions will leave the intersections visible for the planting of the corn. 
From the peculiarity of this plough the soil will be left in a much 
more divided condition than if turned over by the surface plough alone. 
In these intersections the corn may be planted. When 3 inches high 
the lifting subsoil plough, which will affect the soil at the surface 
for 2 feet each side of this line of travel, should be run in one direc- 
tion, half-way between the rows of hills, thus disintegrating the soil 
in the centre to full depth, disturbing it at the surface to the very plants, 
gradually lessening as it approaches them, so that none of the young 
roots are abraded by its action. It will now be seen that immediately 
under the corn is a deep disintegration, readily accessible to the roots, 
while the space between the hills is thoroughly pulverized and deep- 
ened as it recedes from the hills, so that the roots will not be inclined 
to travel surface ways. At the proper time for a second ploughing the 
lifting subsoil plough may be run in the opposing direction half-way 
between the rows, thus rendering the soil pulverulent to a great 
depth at a later stage of the growth. The after cultivation may be 
conducted by the universal cultivator, set the whole width of 4 feet, or 
so near it as not to disturb the plants, and to such depth as will keep 



INDIAN COllN. 



307 



the entire surface free from weeds, and open for the admission of the 
atmosphere. The running of this cultivator, once in each direction, 
will be found to be more efficient than the ordinary use of the hoe, 
and at the same time securing flat cultivation. At the fii'st application 
of the cultivator, or lifting plough, stimulating manures may be used 
to each hill with safety, and we have known many instances where 
100 bushels of shelled corn per acre have been produced by the 
application of two ounces of improved superphosphate of lime to 
each hill, at the first hoeing or first cultivation. The result seems 
to be larger when stimulants are thus applied than when placed in 
the soil before planting. Indeed, when guano, or any other stimu- 
lating manure is used, it should be at the first disturbance of the soil 
after the corn is above ground, rather than before the planting of the 
seed. Some growers prefer to plant the corn in hills as already 
named, running a universal cultivator, with the two rear share teeth 
reversed, between the rows, when the corn is three inches high. This 
throws a light furrow from each row, in which special manures may 
be applied. A small subsoil plough should then be run with the flat 
side toward the corn, the wing of the plough removed so that the 
lifting action of the nose only will be applied to the soil. This should 
be repeated on each side of the row, so as to disturb the soil to 
a depth of ten inches before the corn roots are sufficiently grown to 
be abraded, and this loosening will thoroughly mix the manure with 
the soil. The rear teeth of the cultivator may then be reversed and 
run again between the rows so as to replace this narrow furrow, leav- 
ing the soil flat. In place of a second hoeing, at the usual time, the 
horse hoe may be run in the opposite direction, clearing the ground 
of weeds, and leaving the soil clean and pulverulent. The large 
western corn growers require more simple methods, and less labour, 
and for their use we can only recommend that after planting the corn 
by the machine drill, the cultivator or horse hoe, capable of dis- 
turbing the whole distance between the rows, should be used, instead 
of the ordinary common hoe, and if this be properly conducted the 
economy of such practice will be evident. Special manures may be 
applied in advance of the use of this instrument when necessary. In 
some cases it may be found profitable to use the lifting subsoil plough 
in the centre line between the rows, during the early growth of the 
corn, in place of the cultivator, as this will leave the soil in better 
condition for after crops by its more thorough disturbance. 

From the official statistics we find the following have been the 
maize crops of the United States at the several periods of the de- 
cennial Census : 

Busbels. Bushels. 

1840 377,531,875 1860 838,792,742 

1850 592,071,104 1870 760,944,544 

From the report of the United States Agricultural Department, it 
would appear that the production of maize in 1874 was 850,148,500 
bushels. The largest producing States were : Illinois, 133,579,000 ; 
Iowa, 115,720,000; Ohio, 88,422,000; Indiana, 74,624,000; Kentucky, 
48,514,000; Missouri, 46,049,000; Pennsylvania, 35,821,000; and 
Tennessee, 32,000,000 bushels. In the State of Illinois there were 

X 2 



308 



INDIAN COEN. 



nearly 8,000,000 acres under culture with Indian com. The exports 
from the United States were in 



Bushels. 

1871 9,826,309 

1872 .. ,. 34,491,650 

1873 38,541,930 



Bushels. 

1874 34,434,606 

1875 28,858,420 



The prices at which No. 2 quality sold in the Chicago market 
(whence 45,381,153 bushels were shipped in 1876) were as follows, 
per bushel, in cents : 



Year. 


Highest. 


Lowest. 


Average. 


1873 


29 


53| 


37 


1874 


53 


86 


65 


1875 


46 


76| 


63f 


1876 


38f 


49 


44f 



The corn growing of the States is immense. Maize is now success- 
fully cultivated in nearly every part of a tract of country that e:5tend8 
1000 miles from north to south, and even more than that from east 
to west. 

According to the latest returns there would seem to be about 
37 million acres under culture with maize. 

The following were the produce of the States of the Mississippi 
Basin in 1872 : 

Bushels. 

Michigan 16,987,000 

Indiana 85,541.000 

Illinois 217,628,000 

Wisconsin 21,180,000 

Minnesota 7,987,000 

Iowa 101,189,000 

Missouri 97,002,000 

Kansas 29,631,000 

Total 577,145,000 



The State of Kansas, which has only recently entered the field as 
a grower, had in 1875 1,932,860 acres under maize, and produced 
80,798,769 bushels. 

The progressive imports of maize into the United Kingdom are 
shown below : 



Cwts. 

1840 99,703 

1845 241,667 

1850 5,473,161 

1855 5,208,570 



' Cwts. 

1860 7,936,123 

1865 7,096,033 

1870 16,756,783 

1875 20,438,480 



In 1876 we imported the large quantity of 39,958,226 cwt., besides 
7706 cwt. of maize meal and maizena, for which we paid nearly 
12,750,000/. 

Indian corn is' largely used as food, both for man and animals, in 
all parts of the United States. In the Southern States it forms the 



INDIAN CORN. 



309 



largest portion of the food of tlie inhabitants. It is the principal 
grain used in all parts of the Union, for fattening cattle, swine, sheep, 
and poultry. It is used for those purposes, not only on account of its 
cheapness of production, but for its intrinsic nutritive properties. 

In Brazil maize is largely cultivated, especially in the southern 
provinces, where, in the shape of bread, meal, and farina, it constitutes 
a wholesome and nutritious food. It comes to market in a variety of 
forms. As a rule, maize yields there an average of 150 for one ; 
it is not rare, however, to meet with soils which give from 250 to 300, 
and on the island of Fernando de Noronka 400 for one have frequently 
been harvested. In the province of Parana thirty-six varieties of 
maize are grown. 

The Australian colonies are greatly dependent upon the farmers 
of New South Wales for their supply of maize. Upwards of one 
million bushels are grown. The yield is about 38 bushels per acre. 

In the year 1874-5 there were 1523 acres under culture with maize 
in Victoria, and the produce was 24,263 bushels. In the following 
year there were 2346 acres, and the produce was 37,177 bushels. 

There are several varieties of maize grown in Australia, known by 
the names of Eichmond River, Mackey, Queensland, Hogan, &c. The 
Richmond River variety is a dwarf kind, the stalk short, and the cobs 
small. 

The Mackey has large cobs, the grain is also large, but flat and 
square shaped. The stalk is bulky, and stands 9 or 10 feet high. 
This is a good variety, well worth general cultivation. The Hogan 
variety is small sized and inferior to the preceding. 

In Bankoora and other highland districts of Bengal maize seems 
to constitute one of the chief articles of food during a considerable 
part of the year. It is more used in Behar than any part of Bengal, 
being ordinarily roasted when green, and eaten with salt. 

Maize is now widely distributed not only over India proper, but 
in Burmah, and is universally used for human food. Baden Powell 
observes, in his * Punjaub Products,' that " maize grows everywhere 
throughout the hills, and appears to flourish well in a temperate as 
in a tropical climate. At 7000 feet or more it is the favourite crop of 
the people, and for six months of the year forms their common staple 
of food. Although superseded in the valleys by rice, there is always 
a little plot of maize around the cottage of the peasantry, which is 
reserved for themselves, while the rice is disposed of to wealthier 
classes. To the uplands maize is an admirably suited crop. It is 
very hardy, requires little rain, and is rapidly matured. In sixty 
days from the day of sowing, the cobs are fit to cut, but the grain 
will not keep. Weevils attack it in preference to any other grain, 
and it is a popular saying that the life of maize is only a year long." 

From experiments made at the Madras farm on Queensland maize 
Mr. Robertson has proved that this grain can be profitably cultivated 
in Southern India. He gives the following instructions for its culti- 
vation there : 

" The seed is best sown on drills about 3 feet apart, with intervals 
of 10 or 12 inches between the seed. It may be planted 2 inches 
deep, at the rate of 30 lbs. per acre. 



310 



INDIAN CORN. 



"Maize should always be well manured; from 15 to 20 tons per 
acre may profitably be employed. Sheep and cattle dung may be 
applied, decayed leaves, ashes, brick-yard dust, tank mud, which has 
been thoroughly exposed ; wild indigo, madder leaves, &c., may also 
be beneficially used. No crop pays better for a thorough manuring. 
The better the land is ploughed and worked the more satisfactory will 
be the results. 

" To prevent crows, squirrels, &c., destroying the seed tar it before 
sowing. Take one and a-half pints of hot water, and add to it one- 
twelfth of a pint of tar, mix together, and after cooling pour the 
solution over the seed. After dusting sand, ashes, or sawdust to 
prevent the seeds adhering together, the grain is ready for sowing. 
Keep down the weeds during growth, and cultivate between the rows, 
with hand-hoes and ploughs. 

" On good soils 2000 lbs. of grain may be grown per acre' without 
extraordinary management. One average-sized Queensland cob yielded 
more grain than twelve of the cobs of maize usually grown in the 
Vellore districts. Queensland maize is only a four month crop, and 
may be harvested in time to allow of a crop of grain (pulse) being 
grown before the commencement of the hot season. 

" The cobs should be well matured before being gathered. If the 
weather during the harvesting of the crop be favourable, the skins are 
best kept on the cobs until the seed is perfectly hardened and glazed. 
The average cost of production may be estimated at 25 rupees, while 
the gross return will vary according to the quality of the soil from 
50 to 60 rupees per acre. The profit may vary from 25 to 30 rupees 
per acre, according to the quality of the soil. The better the culti- 
vation the larger the profits. Maize can be sold at 50 rupees (5Z.) 
per ton, and leave a handsome profit to the cultivator. The large 
quantity of straw or stalk, &c., yielded by maize renders it a crop 
particularly valuable in a country like India. 

" Maize can be profitably cultivated on a soil so poor as one con- 
taining 90 per cent, of sand ; but the better the soil, the better will 
be the crop." 

The late Judge Buel, of Albany, was a great advocate for the 
growth of maize. He used to say that it was as indispensable 
to a Yankee as the potato to an Irishman, or the oat to a Scotchman ; 
that there was no crop more beneficial to the farmer than Indian 
corn ; that it was the meat, meadow, and manure crop of the farm ; 
that it was convertible into human food in more forms than any other 
grain, and that its value in fattening domestic animals was not ex- 
ceeded by any other product of the farm. The uses of Indian corn 
are very numerous ; when very young we are told " the small young 
stalks of thickly-sown crops are cut over by the Mexicans as an 
article for the dessert, and almost everyone relishes green corn in 
its season. Then there are various preparations of the grain, such as 
johnnycake, hominy, mush, samp, succatash, pop corn, &c. ; and now 
it is largely used as a substitute for arrowroot, known in Britain as 
" Oswego flour," and " corn starch." The use of the Indian corn 
plant for soiling cattle has long been known and recommended ; also 
for winter fodder, when pasturage and meadow threatened to fail. 



INDIAN COEN. 



311 



It is now employed largely for this purpose, and no plant answers 
better, or gives more feed to the acre when properly manured and 
managed. Corn was at one time greatly recommended for making 
sugar, and many experiments were tried with it in the United States, 
but it evidently did not prove profitable, as for many years we have 
heard nothing of corn-stalk sugar. This by the way was no new 
use for this plant, as Prescott, in his History of the Conquest of 
Mexico, after noticing several of the most important articles of their 
industry, says that the great staple of the country, as indeed of the 
American continent, was maize or Indian corn, which grew freely 
along the valleys, and up the steep sides of the Cordilleras to the high 
level of the tableland. The Aztecs were as curious in its preparation, 
and as well instructed in its manifold uses as the most expert New 
England housewife. Its gigantic stalks, in these equinoctial regions, 
afford a saccharine matter not found to the same extent in northern 
latitudes, and supplied the natives with sugar little inferior to the 
cane itself ; which was not introduced among them till after the con- 
quest in 1519. Indian corn is also largely used for distilling all over 
North America, and in South America it appears to have been made 
into CMca or maize beer at a very remote period — it was a common 
drink of the Indians long before the Spanish conquest. It was com- 
monly made in a similar manner to ordinary beer. The liquor is said 
to be of a dark yellow colour, with an agreeable slightly bitter acid 
taste ; it is in universal demand on the west coast of South America, 
and is consumed in vast quantities by the Mountain Indians ; scarcely 
a single hut in the interior is without its jar of this favourite liquor. 
Besides the use made of Indian corn as food and drink for man in its 
various preparations, it is largely used for feeding cattle and stock of 
all kind. In the Western States, cattle and pigs are turned into the 
corn fields and there fatten for the market, thus saving all harvesting. 
With us it is used for feeding pigs, either whole or ground into meal, 
and also for feeding cattle when fattening during winter. It is ex- 
cellent for feeding to milk cows during winter and spring, and is 
sometimes fed to horses ; indeed all kinds of stock on a farm — horses, 
cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry — will readily eat and seem fond of 
Indian corn. We hear of corn being sometimes used for fuel in the 
West, where wood and coal are scarce and dear and corn is cheap. 
In Illinois and other parts they use the corn cobs chiefly for summer 
fuel ; when kept dry they burn well, and are no bad substitute at that 
season for wood or coal. There are many varieties of Indian corn 
known, of which the most prominent are those distinguished by 
colour, as white, red or brown, and yellow ; those that have different 
numbers of rows on the ear, as the eight, ten, twelve, to twenty-four 
rowed kinds; those that differ in taste, as the sweet and common 
kinds ; and those that have some peculiarities in their kernels, as the 
horse tooth, gourd seed, rice corn, &c., &c. There is no doubt that 
this plant can be much improved by selection and cultivation, and 
that varieties may be multiplied to almost any extent by judicious 
selection of kinds, and crossing by careful impregnation. Almost 
every corn grower has his favourite kind; but scarcely any kind will 
thrive better than the common eight-rowed yellow corn. Though 



312 



INDIAN CORN. 



corn is a tropical or sub-tropical plant, yet it is capable of being 
acclimated in almost any region up to nearly the 50th degree of 
latitude on the American continent, and is adapted in some of its 
varieties to almost any part of the country. Being a short-lived 
annual it will succeed wherever the heat of summer is intense and 
of sufficient duration, whatever may be the cold of winter. The corn 
crop must have been of immense benefit to the early settlers of this 
country. It succeeds well on new-cleared land; it requires little 
cultivation there ; it gives a large increase for the seed planted ; it 
requires a short season to mature, and could be used for food before 
it came to matuiity. It is no wonder that this was a favourite crop ; 
even yet there is said to be more land devoted to the production of 
Indian corn in the United States than to any other grain. 

In Italy it is an important part of the cereal crop, and the produce 
has been given at 45,000,000 bushels. How largely it enters into 
the agricultural economy of the country may be seen from the fact 
that in certain parts, the province of Turin for instance, the labourer 
is allowed to share the produce of the Indian corn with his master. 
In other parts of Lombardy, besides a money payment for wages, he 
receives a proportion also, which when mixed with rye and millet 
flour is made into a coarse bread. Amongst the better paid a 
*' polenta " of corn meal is principally eaten : this, mixed with vege- 
tables, and flavoured with a little bacon, is a favourite dish. 

In the south of Europe and on the banks of the Danube the culti- 
vation has been attended with considerable success ; in Hungary, in 
particular, the crops of maize are large and profitable, some 3,500,000 
acres yielding 66,000,000 bushels. 

We have no details of the acreage under maize in the Austrian 
empire, but in Baron Czoernig's ' Statistical Handbook ' (Vienna 
1861) the production is returned at 43,076,000 metzen (1 j bushels), 
which is nearly equal to the wheat produced. 

In Greece, where it shares attention with wheat, barley, and rice, 
the production amounts to about three milHon bushels. In localities 
where the land can be irrigated and the soil is particularly good, 
maize is planted after the barley has been cut in the month of May. 
The principal food of the peasantry consists of a coarse brown bread, 
called " keramedopita," made of a mixture of barley and corn flour, 
or " bobota," being a bread made of maize. 

In Portugal Indian corn is the staple cultivation of the northern 
part, and the produce amounts to about fifteen million bushels. The 
proportion that it bears to that of all other corn crops throughout the 
country is one- half in respect to quantity and value, and one-third in 
respect to the portion of the cultivated area devoted to cereals. The 
universal bread food is " broa," a strong, wholesome, and not im- 
palatable mixture of maize and rye. To the use of this bread food 
is ascribed the well-being of the Portuguese peasant. 

In France the production is stated to be 30,000,000 bushels, and 
the grain is grown and used chiefly for poultry, which, in the sub- 
divided condition of the soil, is one of the mainstays of the peasant 
farmer, as in England, so far, one of its chief uses is for feeding 
pheasants, who thrive very fast upon it. 



RICE. 



313 



In 1872 there were 698,091 hectares under maize and millet, 
which was somewhat under the quantity in previous years, for in 
1870 there were 1,653,000 acres under Indian corn. The produce in 
1872 was 11,685,832 hectolitres. 

In Algeria much attention is not given to the culture of maize, as 
it requires good land and ii-rigation. It is sown in March and Aj)ril, 
according to the season. The forty days' variety is harvested in 
June ; the larger kinds in July and August. The mean ^produce on 
ii-rigated land is 18 to 20 cwt. per hectare ; on dry land it is not a 
third of this. 

There were in 1870 about 19,000 hectares under cultui-e, which 
produced 210,4:05 hectolitres. In 1874 there were under culture 
about 47,000 hectares, chiefly by the natives, as only 5000 were culti- 
vated by Europeans. 

Maize Starch. — A large quantity of Indian corn is employed in 
America and this country in making starch, or what is known as corn 
flour, and maizena. In this manufacture the maize is softened in a 
solution of carbonate of soda and crushed in mills, on which water is 
poured. The milky liquid which flows is diluted with water, and 
conveyed over a large sieve, on an incKned surface, the fibres, &c., 
being left on the sieve. The starch is deposited on the inclined plane, 
while the fatty and nitrogenous substances pass ofi' with the liquid into 
the vat. The starch is collected, washed, and dried. The residues 
remaining on the sieve are employed for feeding stock and in paper 
making, the oil or fat in soap making. 

There is a small sweet variety grown in Demerara, called cariaca, 
which ripens its grain in less than two months from the time of sow- 
ing. It is in every respect more diminutive than the ordinary Indian 
corn, being very slender in its stalk, and with the leaves and ears 
also small in comparison with the ordinary kinds. The flavour of the 
cariaca is very fine roasted in the milk, that is, before the grain is 
fully ripe, when it is very soft and juicy. Indeed it is usually pre- 
pared in this way, and seldom permitted to arrive at maturity. You 
see the negroes mimching the grain off the roasted cob. The natives 
sometimes crush and bake it, and it makes a nutritious, juicy sort of 
bread, which they call " cachapo." 

EICE. 

One of the most extensively diffused and useful of the grain crops, 
and supporting the greatest number of the human race, is rice. It 
occupies, in fact, the same place in most intertropical regions that 
wheat does in the warmer parts of Europe, and oats and rye in those 
more to the north. It is raised in immense quantities in India, China, 
Java, and most Eastern coimtries ; in parts of the West Indies, Central 
America, and the United States, and in some of the southern coimtries 
of Europe. The chief food of perhaps one-third of the human race, 
it affords the advantages attending wheat, maize, and other grains, 
while it is susceptible of cultivation on land too low and moist for 
the production of other useful plants. 

The rice from the Southern States of America is decidedly the best 



314 



BICE. 



brought into commerce, being much sweeter, larger, and better 
coloured than that from Asia, where its cultivation is not so well 
managed. It is necessary to except Bengal rice, which now nearly 
equals that grown in the Carolinas. South Carolina produces the 
best American rice, and Patna the best East Indian variety. Excel- 
lent rice is also grown in the Spanish provinces of Andalusia, 
Valencia, and Catalonia, as well as in the marshes of Upper Italy, 
especially Lombardy and Venice, and in the plains of Milan, 
Mantua, Verona, Parma, and Modena, along the river Po. 

Our imports of cleaned rice in 1875 (besides 16,601 quarters in the 
husk) were derived from the following sources : 



Cwts. 

Holland 51,369 

France 11,191 

Siam 110,216 

Bombay and Sciude 32,486 

Madras 182,265 

Bengal and Burmah 6,251,319 

Other countries 81,048 



Total 6,719,894 



The Carolinas and Louisiana now produce annually about 420,000 
cwts. of rice ; the Brazilian comes into commerce from Rio Janeiro, 
and the Egyptian from the Delta of the Nile, via Damietta and 
Rosetta. 

The following table shows the imports into the United Kingdom, 
of rice cleaned, and in the husk, or uncleaned, at decennial periods. 



Year. 


Cleaned. 


Paddy. 


1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
1875 


cwts. 
443,918 
785,451 
1.535,575 
4,077,468 
6,719,894 


qrs. 
42,119 
37,150 
516 
98,178 
16,601 



In 1876 the imports of cleaned rice were 6,485,987 cwts. 

It will be seen how enormously the trade has increased. About 
half the quantity received is re-exported to the Continent, &c. 

Loureiro enumerates the following species : Oryza communissima^ 
glutinosa, montana, mutlca and praecox, all of China; other 
authors consider them only varieties of 0. sativa. Then we Lave 
0. latifolia, Desv. of the Carolinas and St. Domingo; 0. mlnuta, 
Presl. of Luzon ; 0. Nepalensis, G. Don ; 0. peremiis, Moench, and 0. 
platyphylla, of New Granada. 

The varieties of rice are very numerous in the different countries 
where it is cultivated. The natives of India and China distinguish 
them a good deal by the size, shape, and colour of the grain. There 
are white and red rice, small and large-grained. The chief com- 
mercial classifications, however, in the East are, table rice, cargo rice 
and white rice. 



RICE. 



315 



Although there are such innumerable varieties cultivated, practi- 
cally they resolve themselves, agriculturally, into two kinds — the 
upland or mountain rice, and the lowland or aquatic rice. 

Java rice is inferior to that of Bengal, or Carolina. This is not 
attributable to any real inferiority in the grain, but chiefly to the 
careless mode in which it is prepared for the market. In husking 
the grain it is much broken ; and from carelessness in drying, it is 
very subject to decay, from imbibing moisture and the attacks of 
insects. TJnhusked rice or paddy may be kept sound for many 
years ; indeed for table use, rice a year old is usually preferred by 
judges. Of all the cereals it is the most compact, seldom weighing 
less than 65 lbs. to the bushel. 

Rice does not contain half as much gluten as wheat, but has one- 
fourth more starch in its composition, hence the preference given to it 
by our starch makers, both from its cheapness and larger yield. 
Professor Johnston found the proportions of water in rice to be as 



follows : 

Madras 13-5 

Bengal 13-1 

Patna 13-1 

Carolina 13*0 



Mr. Dugald Campbell, in a series of analyses, published in my 
' Technologist,' * on the amount of starch in rice, found in four 
samples of pinky Madras rice an average of 13*57 per cent, of water, 
and the proportions of starch in four qualities were : 



First quality 76-6 

Second „ 73-0 

Third „ 70-2 

Fourth „ 69-1 

Average of the four specimens . . 72-2 



The following are given by Dr. Watson as the composition of the 
several varieties of rice named : 





Pegu. 


Bombay. 


Broach. 


Bareilly. 


Puiut 
Mauimein. 


Nitrogenous matter 

Fatty or oily matter 
Mineral constituents (ash) . . 


13-50 
7-41 

78-10 
0-40 
0-59 


13-00 
7-44 
77-63 

0- 70 

1- 23 


13-10 
7-12 

78-70 
0-49 
0-66 


12-80 
8-24 

77-80 
0-64 
0-52 


12-90 
7-24 

78-56 
0-60 
0-70 


Total 


100-00 


100-00 


100-00 


100 00 


100-00 



In Europe, America, and Africa the cultivation of rice is compara- 
tively insignificant. It is in the intertropical countries of Asia that 
rice is of the very first importance. Over the seaboards of the penin- 
sulas of India and China, in Japan, and some of the eastern islands, it 
holds undisputed sovereignty. 

* Vol. i. p. 191. 



316 



BICE. 



Italy. — To the Moors has been attributed the introduction of rice 
into Spain, and subsequently to Italy. From the Venetian provinces 
it extended rapidly through the marshy tracts so common in that 
region. The great swamps of Verona and Mantua, useless for other 
species of culture, afforded a profitable field for rice ; in them it was 
early established, and has always continued to be of great importance. 
Its progress to the eastward was slow, and it was not until the middle of 
the sixteenth century that the rice cultivation of the Milanese became 
of sufficient extent to attract public attention to its sanitary relations. 
Its development thus kept pace with the progress of that great system 
of irrigation canals which had been perfected at this time. 

In Piedmont and Lombardy rice cultivation is divided into two 
classes — permanent, locally termed risage da zajtpa, from the use of 
the spade in its tillage ; and temporary, risage da vicenda, which forms 
a part of the rotation of crops in the irrigated districts. The per- 
manent rice cultivation is restricted exclusively to low marshy 
localities unsuited for any other culture, and is of great value, being 
the only crop which soils so wet are capable of affording when intro- 
duced into the rotation. This extends over nine years, generally in 
the following order : 1st year, wheat with grass seeds ; 2ud5 3rd, and 
4th, meadows ; 5th, 6th, and 7th, rice ; 8th and 9th, Indian corn, or 
other crops, varying from year to year. 

A clayey impervious soil, with a small proportion of sand near the 
surface, is found to be the best for rice. As the plant passes its 
existence in water, the details of the culture are directed to securing 
this condition. The means employed are much the same in Italy as 
in India. The surface of rice land is made as nearly as possible 
horizontal, and where variations of level occur, a series of terraces is 
formed, each of which is carefully levelled. Compartments are then 
marked out, of which the dimensions are extremely variable, and each 
is surrounded by earthen walls or banks about two feet high. Con- 
nection is established between the compartments at high and low 
levels, so that the water entering the first passes into the others, and 
thus maintains a very gentle movement which keeps the supply always 
fresh. When the divisions are duly formed, the rice-ground is 
ploughed and carefully weeded in spring. 

If the soil be too wet for the use of the plough, as in marshy 
localities, it is broken up by the spade, a tedious and unhealthy 
process. After the ground has been thus prepared, water is admitted 
for the purpose of verifying the levels, and of consolidating the 
partition-walls of the different divisions. It is necessary to remove 
all trees from the immediate vicinity, as shade is very hurtful to the 
crop. 

The period of sowing extends from the beginning of March to the 
beginning of May. The new rice-lands are sown first : those which 
have been established for one or more years at a later period, as the 
soil is benefited by exposure for some time to the heat of the sun. 
Eice in the husk, locally termed risone, is employed as seed in the 
proportion of from three to four bushels per acre, according to the 
nature of the soil. It is sown by hand, and as the land is literally 
in the state of mud, it is very laborious and unhealthy work for the 



RICE. 



317 



cultivators. It is usual to soak the rice-seed in water for twenty-four 
hours previously, with the double object of quickening its vegetation, 
and preventing its floating on the surface of the water, as without 
this precaution it occasionally does. 

Twelve or fifteen days after the sowing, the young plants rise above 
the surface of the soil, and as they increase in height, the sheet of 
water is gradually increased with them, so that merely their tops show 
above it. The fields are kept in this flooded state until the plant 
flowers, which, according to the time of sowing, takes place between 
the middle of July and the middle of August. About this time the 
flooding of the crop is replaced by regular but abundant irrigation, at 
intervals of a few days. When the head becomes well formed, the 
grain of good size and the colour changes from deep to lighter 
yellowish green, all use of water is discontinued, the land is drained 
as dry as practicable, and in ten or fifteen days afterwards the crop is 
ready for cutting. The rice harvest in the north of Italy ranges, 
according to circumstances, from the middle of September to the 
beginning of October ; and the crop is cut with the scythe when large 
compartments are used, and with the reaping-hook in the smaller 
ones. The grain is made into small sheaves about 25 lbs. or 30 lbs. 
in weight, and with a constant length of 18 inches. When the plants 
are longer than this, they are cut higher, and the stubble is afterwards 
ploughed in as manure. 

The thrashing is effected after the Oriental fashion, by the treading 
of bullocks or horses ; and the grain is subsequently dried for some 
days by exposure to the sun. It is then stored, and during the 
winter, when water is cheap and abundant, it is cleared of the husks 
in the rice mills attached to the farms, which are worked by water- 
power. Throughout Northern Italy the meadow and rice lands may 
be said almost to divide between them that vast volume of water 
which is every year poured over the face of the country. - 

Italy exported the following quantity of rice : 



Kilos. 

1862 26,666,820 

1866 52,466,222 

1867 86,340,069 

1870 86,681,044 



Kilos. 

1871 84,350,000 

1872 75,372,000 

1873 66,421,000 

1875 72,769,000 



India. — At least three-fourths of the rice that forms the export 
trade of the world is exported from British India. Bengal rice finds 
its way wherever coolies emigrate, and no other rice seems able to 
compete with it in the market. 

The rice exported from Calcutta is divided broadly into three 
qualities : table rice, ballam, and moonghy ; of these table rice is of 
course the best quality. Ballam is mostly Backergunge and Eastern 
Bengal rice ; the name may be supposed to be derived from the 
Chittagong boats of peculiar construction in which the rice is carried, 
called ballam boats. The moonghy is common or inferior rice. To 
the United Kingdom the exports in the largest proportion are of 
table rice ; and similarly to Bombay and Australia, where it is in- 
tended in the first instance as food for Europeans ; the rice exported 



318 



BICE. 



from Calcutta is table rice. To the Mauritius, however, the exports 
are ballam and moonghy, being in the proportion of 150 tons of ballam 
and 75 of moonghy to 15 tons of table rice, and the same to Bombay 
and the West Indies. To the Straits, to Java, to the Maldives and 
Laccadives, to Ceylon, to Madras and the Coromandel Coast, and to 
the Gulfs the export is almost entirely of ballam rice. 

First among the Indian cereals, of course comes paddy. There 
are over 1400 dijfferent specimens of it in the Calcutta Museum. 
Probably there does not elsewhere exist an equally extensive and 
valuable collection of this cereal. Of paddy, or the rice grain, there 
are in Bengal three well recognised classes — the Aus, the Amun, and 
the Boro. They may be shortly distinguished as follows : 

The aus is sown between the middle of March and the middle of 
April, and is cut in August and September. It does not grow in 
water; is coarse, and is not largely produced. The amun is sown 
between the middle of May and the end of June. It requires 
showers of rain even in its early days, but the young plants should 
be strong before the regular rains set in. It is cut in November and 
December, and constitutes the staple crop of the country. The boro 
is sown in January and February, or somewhat earlier ; is planted 
out in low marshy places, and is cut in April and May. 

The number of varieties of paddy in the three different classes 
together is something enormous, when compared with anything of the 
kind to which we are accustomed in England. Ten or a dozen names 
each would probably cover all the different sorts of wheat and bai'ley 
with which the practical English farmer is brought in contact. But 
there are already in the Calcutta Museum as many as 1104 names of 
paddys, and though very many of these are merely local synonyms, a 
large number unquestionably correspond to intrinsic and seasonal 
distinctions. 

The obvious differences in the grain itself are indeed very remark- 
able. In colour the specimens range from a bright golden hue, through 
almost every gradation of tint, to black. And in regard to size they 
vary from the dimension of a large mustard seed to those of a canta- 
loup melon seed. Some two hundred or three hundred of the samples 
of paddy in the museum have been tested by weighing ; and of these 
the smallest furnished 203J paddy grains to the half drachm, the 
largest 54J grains. 

The husked rice, or rice proper in the understanding of English 
people, exhibits, necessarily, differences of size corresponding with 
those of its parent grain. It also varies in tint from a pure white 
colour to a dull red. The proportionate out-turn of rice to the un- 
husked paddy from which it arises depends both upon the sort of 
grain and the process of husking pursued ; probably also upon other 
elements. Dr. Buchanan Hamilton says it amounts to a little more 
than one half ; * and a writer in the ' Statistical Reporter ' gives the 
proportion of " rice " to " paddy " at from half to two-thirds. 

It has not yet been ascertained what are the external conditions of 
season, situation, and culture, which give the different sorts their 
respective economic values ; and investigation on these points forms 

* Vol. ii. p. 824. 



RICE. 



319 



part of the work which is yet reserved to be accomplished in Cal- 
cutta. 

It is impossible to give anything like an approximate estimate of 
the land under culture, and the annual production of the great rice- 
growing countries of the East. But a few incidental facts may be 
stated. In 1870, there were 4,000,000 acres devoted to rice in the 
Madras Presidency. 

The following are extracts from an interesting note on the cultiva- 
tion of rice, by Lieutenant Ottley, Assistant to the Chief Engineer, 
Irrigation Branch, Bengal : 

The rice continent of the world is Asia, and in Asia, British India 
is pre-eminent as the territory where rice cultivation most prospers. 

American rice, from the careful cultivation to which it has been 
subjected, has acquired a quality far finer than that of any other rice. 
Persistent efforts have been made by the Indian Government to intro- 
duce the Carolina varieties into India, but hitherto with only moderate 
success. On this point Sir George Campbell, in his ' Administration 
Eeport for 1872-73,' writes thus: "For Carolina rice cultivation an 
artificial supply of water is necessary, and instructions have now been 
issued that the seed should be sown on our canals, and duly irrigated. 
Carolina rice is much more highly priced in the market than ordinary 
rice, and it may be that with command of water we shall be able to 
realise from the cultivation of Carolina rice much that is now sunk 
on canals." 

The following figures may be useful as showing the immense im- 
portance of rice cultivation. Eice is the principal article of diet over 
Bengal proper, and among Bengalees is often the only food eaten; 
pulses, fish, vegetables, oil, salt, spices, and other condiments are only 
added to give the rice a relish. It is generally admitted that the con- 
sumption varies from two-thirds to three-fourths of a seer (about 2 lbs.) 
per head per diem. The population of Bengal and Orissa amounts to 
44,913,305 souls; this number therefore at two-thirds of a seer per 
diem, or six maunds per head per annum, reqaire nearly 270,000,000 
maunds of rice. In Behar, rice is still the principal food crop, 
though among the poorer classes, and especially in the district of 
Sarun, maize and barley are in a great degree the food of the people. . . . 
The population of Behar is 19,736,101 souls, and allowing 3 maunds of 
rice per head per annum, we require nearly 60,000,000 maunds of rice. 
Bengal and Behar together, therefore, consume about 330,000,000 
maunds of rice yearly, or say 12,250,000 tons ; add to this an export 
of 500,000 tons, and 2,000,000 tons for seed grain and waste, and 
the total requirements amount to nearly 15,000,000 tons of rice 
per annum, or say 574,000,000 maunds of paddy. An article in the 
' Indian Economist,' taking the consumption at three-foui'ths of a seer 
per head per diem, and allowing that amount for Behar, as well as 
Bengal and Orissa, arrived at a total requirement of nearly 20,000,000 
tons of rice, or say 765,000,000 maunds of paddy. Both these calcu- 
lations exclude the reserves which must be stored, and deal only with 
the actual yearly hand-to-mouth consumption. Taking the lower of 
the two estimates, the area yearly under rice probably amounts to from 
30,000,000 to 40,000,000 acres, or say from 60,000 to 80,000 square 



320 



RICE. 



miles ; unfortunately, there is no reliable information obtainable on 
this point in any district, so that it is difficult to arrive at even an 
approximation as to the area under rice cultivation. 

Eice being the staple food crop of Bengal and Burmah, it is im- 
portant to ascertain as nearly as may be the average out-turn per 
acre. The conclusions which I draw from a very careful study of a 
mass of statistics on this subject are as follows : — 

1st. That very good land in very exceptional years will give an out- 
turn of 48 maunds per acre, and in such exceptional places as Hid- 
gellee even as much as 54 maunds. 

2nd. That the out-turn of the same land in an ordinary good year 
may range from 86 to 40 maunds per acre. 

3rd. That the out-tm*n of ordinarily fair low land in a really good year 
may range from 30 to 36 maunds. 

4th. That this same land on an average of say ten years will give a 
yearly out-turn of from 18 to 24 maunds. 

5th. That poor or high sandy land will give in a good year 18 maunds. 

6th. That the same land on an average of say ten years will give a 
yearly out-turn of 12 or 13 maunds. 

7th. That the average out-turn for a number of years of all classes of 
land will be about 15 maimds per acre. 

These conclusions have reference only to crops depending on the 
rainfall or irrigated from som'ces the supply of which is not assured, 
and it appears to me that a never-failing supply of canal water would 
eliminate the unfavourable years, and would thus raise the average 
yearly out-turn of the irrigated crops from 15 maunds to between 24 
and 30, according as the lower or higher estimate of a favourable out- 
turn is accepted. 

Doubts having been frequently expressed as to the value of, or neces- 
sity for, irrigation for rice crops, a great number of experiments to 
ascertain the out-turn of irrigated and unirrigated crops were carried 
out in 1873 by Mr. Apjohn in the Midnapore district. The results 
may bo here briefly stated thus. The unirrigated lands gave an out- 
turn of about one-fifth of a bumper crop, lands irrigated in October 
and November gave nearly half a bumper crop, and lands irrigated 
from June and July gave six-sevenths of a bumper crop. The crops 
irrigated from the beginning of the season exceeded in value the 
altogether unirrigated ones by rupees 16 per acre, the value being 
obtained from the selling price of the paddy and straw on the ground. 

Now, inasmuch as the year (1873) in which these experiments were 
made was one of deficient rainfall, the comparison is decidedly favour- 
able to the canals and unfavourable to the uniiTigated crops, and this 
proportion of out-turn, viz., 4 J to 1, cannot, and will not hold in 
ordinary years. 

This much, however, may be safely inferred— /rs^Zy, that in bad 
seasons the canal-irrigated crop will be say 4^ times better than the 
unirrigated one ; and secondly, that in ordinary years the canal-irri- 
gated crop will compare with the unirrigated one as 6 to 5 at least. 
This increase may not appear great when merely one acre is considered, 
but becomes of vital importance when the area of cultivation is reckoned 
in hundreds of thousands of acres. 



KICB, 



321 



In India generally, it has been said, rice is produced in every 
variety of soil, at every altitude, and in every latitude. On an average 
estimate the yield of one acre of rice in the fertile soil of Eastern 
Bengal has been taken to be about 27 maunds of paddy, or 2,214 lbs. 
Eather less than 2 maunds or about 160 lbs. would be the amount of 
seed required in those provinces for sowing an acre ; and the produce 
may, therefore, be estimated at thirteen or fourteen-fold. This is 
rather an over-estimate for ordinary Bengal produce. Twenty maunds 
of paddy or say 12 maunds of rice per acre is really a very good 
average out-turn, and a yield of seven- fold is an average beyond which 
few cultivators on an ordinary soil venture to calculate. In the 
North- West Provinces the average yield of rice is reported to be little 
over 10 or 12 maunds of paddy per acre, or from 500 lbs. to 800 lbs. 
of cleaned rice. In the Punjaub the out-turn is estimated at 550 lbs. ; 
in Oudh at 649 lbs., in the Central Provinces at 207 lbs., and in 
Mysore at 1577 lbs. of rice per acre. It is presumed that these calcu- 
lations are in cleaned rice, as it is impossible to suppose that there 
can be so small a yield as this of paddy or rice unhusked. The 
Mysore estimate, however, is apparently in paddy. In Mr. Dalzell's 
' Memoir on the Famine of 1866,' it is asserted that the Eevenue 
Settlement Department of Madras, after inquiries and experiments, 
extending over ten years, had estimated that an acre of unirrigated 
land in the Madras Presidency produces on the average a yield of 
about 5 cwts. or 560 lbs., and that an acre of irrigated land produces 
10 cwts. or 1120 lbs. of cleaned rice. The yield of paddy is said to 
be double the yield of cleaned rice. In Sindh the out-turn of an acre 
is estimated at from 900 to 1200 lbs. of paddy. 

In British Burmah it is reported that one acre will produce from 
fifty to one hundred baskets, or 2700 to 5400 lbs. of paddy, according 
to the class of land. On the best land somewhat less than one basket 
(54 lbs.) of paddy will plant an acre, while on inferior land it takes 
more. The yield of paddy in British Burmah is, therefore, from fifty 
to a hundred-fold. The average on the Tenasserim coast is said to 
be only twenty-fold. In Siam, Cochin-China, and Java it is a 
common practice to exact two crops of rice yearly from the same 
soil, one in April and one in October, and an English acre in Java 
so cultivated has been found to yield an annual produce of 560 lbs. 
of cleaned rice. In the same island an acre of good land yielding 
annually one green crop and a crop of rice was found to produce 
941 lbs. of clean grained rice or about 1250 lbs. of paddy. 

It would not be difficult to re-produce many other calculations that 
have been made of the out-turn per acre and of the remunerative 
quality of rice cultivation. To do so, however, would be of little use, 
as the calculations are mere estimates, and are often evidently very 
inaccurate.* 

Rice is the favourite food-grain of the people of Asia ; but, except 
in Arracan, and a few other districts, in which it constitutes the chief 
and almost only article cultivated, its use is confined to the richer 
classes throughout the country. 

Rice is used for food for man, beast, and bird ; for the manufacture 

* Mr. H. J. S. Cotton in ' Calcutta Review,' 1874. 

Y 



322 



RICE. 



of starch, tlie distillation of spirits, &c. Its varieties are as nume- 
rous as its uses. There are in Bengal three distinct crops : the first, 
grown on somewhat high ground, is the early crop, sown for the 
most part in June, and reaped in August and September. The second 
is the main crop, sown in June and July, and cut from November to 
January. It requires a great deal of moisture, some varieties grow- 
ing in several feet of water. The third is a dwarf crop, cultivated 
in the months of March, April, and May, on low-lying land, gene- 
rally on the sides of marshes and pools, where irrigation is easy. 
The ratio of productiveness is said to be, in a good season, as 1 to 35. 

The following figures show the rice exported from India, distin- 
guishing husked and unhusked, chiefly to England, Ceylon, and 
Mauritius. Value of that exported about 5,000,000/. a year. 





Year. 


1 Husked. 


Paddy. 




1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 


cwts. 
15,792,022 
16,990,890 
22,973,797 
19,805,184 
16,940,642 


cwts. 
295,791 
320,395 
320,159 
440,201 
452,296 


The expansion of the export rice trade of Burmah is remarkable. 
The value of the exports is between two and a-half and three mil- 
lions sterling, or more than one pound per head of the population. 
Now, rice mills are being built year by year at Akyab, Bassein, and 
Rangoon. 

Eice constitutes the main staple of British Burmah, which pro- 
vince exported during 1875 nearly 61 per cent, of the total exports 
from India. These Indian exports and the value were in : 




Year. j Eice and Paddy. j Value. 




1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 


cwts 

15,377,071 
10,614,644 
16,087,813 
17,311,285 
23,293,956 
20,245,383 
17,392,938 


£ 

4,283,965 
3,087,615 
4,203,850 
4,499,161 
5,761,030 
5,549,797 
4,765,334 



The narrow strip of coast between the sea and the Aeng range, 
which we call Arracan, covers an area of about 16,250 square miles. 
It is generally fertile. The deep lagoons which intersect it in every 
direction afford ready means of communication, and it has a fine and 
convenient outlet for its produce in the magnificent harbour of 
Akyab. The production has been developed by the small indepen- 
dent owners of land, until the province now competes successfully 
with Bengal in the supply of rice to the continent, so that the ex- 
ports, which in 1830 gave employment to but a few coasting vessels, 
now require one million tons of shipping. 



RICE. 



323 



The Burmese recognize nearly a hundred varieties of rice, but the 
principal distinctions between the different kinds are as follows : — 
hard grain, soft grain, and glutinous rice. The " Natsieng " is the 
hardest grain, and the rice which is accordingly principally ex- 
ported to Europe. The "Meedo" is the chief of the soft grain 
varieties. It is much preferred by the Burmese to the hard-grained 
sorts, and it is certainly superior in taste when cooked ; but the hard- 
grained rice is that purchased by the merchants for export, as it 
keeps better, and the soft-grained rice is too much broken by Euro- 
pean machinery in cleaning. Latterly, on the continent, this last 
objection appears to have been overcome, and a greater demand is 
consequently springing up for the " Meedo " rice for the markets of 
foreign Europe. The " Koungnyeen," or hill rice, is called " gluti- 
nous " rice by Europeans, from the property it possesses when cooked 
of the grains all adhering in a thick glutinous mass. It is the chief 
article of food with the Karens, and other hill tribes, but is not much 
eaten by the inhabitants .of the low swampy plains, where the common 
rice is grown. 

The annexed table shows the exports of rice (excluding paddy) from 
Bengal to Indian and foreign ports for twelve years : 



Year. 


To Foreign Ports. 


To Indian Ports. 


Total. 


1861-62 


341,198 


69,082 


410,271 


1862-63 


407,793 


74,264 


482,057 


1863-64 


388,814 


187,253 


576,067 


1864-65 


403,432 


291,909 


695,341 


1865-66 


255,167 


81,045 


336,211 


1866-67 


160,357 


62,302 


222,659 


1867-68 


268,892 


83,574 


352,466 


1868-69 


254,244 


132,369 


386,613 


1869-70 


190,093 


182,962 


373,055 


1870-71 


244,916 


185,442 


430,358 


1871-72 


252,812 


179,052 


431,864 
511,260 


1872-73 


355,054 


156,206 



The following were the several countries to which cleaned rice 
was sent from British India in 1872-73 : 



Cwts. 

United Kingdom 1 1 , 944 , 640 

France 10,144 

Germany 111,831 

Mediterranean ports 382,667 

Other countries in Europe 200,627 

North and South America 128,919 

West Indies 591,773 

Mauritius 2,435,035 

Bourbon 148,236 

Other countries in Africa 140,244 

Arabian and Persian Gulfs 1 , 162 , 620 

Ceylon 3,049,052 



Total 20,305,787 



In Cochin-China there were in 1874 700,000 acres under culture 
with rice. In 1867 3,200,000 piculs of rice were exported. 

Y 2 



324 



EICE. 



Eice, although regarded by us more as a cheap luxury than a 
necessary article of food, forms the chief subsistence of the Hindoos, 
Chinese, Japanese, and other eastern nations. The Burmese and 
Siamese are the greatest consumers of this grain. A Malay labourer 
requires 56 lbs. monthly, but a Burmese or Siamese 64 lbs. The 
South Carolina people do not consume much rice themselves : they 
raise it principally to supply the foreign demand ; the swamps of that 
State, both those which are occasioned by the periodical visit of the 
tides, and those which are caused by the inland flooding of the rivers, 
being well suited to its production. The mountain rice of India is 
grown without irrigation, at elevations of 3000 to 6000 feet above the 
level of the sea ; the dampness of the summer months compensating 
for the want of artificial moisture. Eice, which comes to us in the 
husk, is called by its Indian name " Paddy." Before it can be used 
for food, the husk must be removed : this is done in India amongst 
the poorer people by merely rubbing the grain between flat stones, and 
winnowing or blowing the husks away. 

Slam.— In 1870 2,563,802 piculswere exported, equal to 3,204,000 
cwts. The export in 1875 was 3,904,800 piculs of cleaned rice and 
21,578 piculs of paddy, valued together at 1,215,042Z. This was 
nearly all sent to Hong Kong and Singapore for China. 

This export of rice was in excess of all previous years by about 
1,000,000 piculs. There is, however, no reason to believe that this 
arises from new land being brought into cultivation, but simply that 
the season was a good one and the demand for rice in China was con- 
stant throughout the year. Burmah and Cochin-China having the 
advantage of telegraphic communication with the rest of the world, 
and their trade being on a more regular footing, the rice from those 
countries is all taken away as soon as it is ready. In Siam the export 
though far less on the whole than in either of those countries, con- 
tinues throughout the year. 

There is little reason to believe that Siam will produce, at least for 
some time to come, more rice than she does at present. Nothing is 
done to encourage the cultivators, and a system of advances made by 
officials on the crops is growing up, which eventually takes all profit 
out of their hands. 

China. — Eice culture extends over all the provinces of China, which 
combine abundance of water with the mild temperature necessary for 
this grain. The provinces of the south yield two harvests annually. 
There are many varieties, as white and red rice, large and small 
grain, the upland or dry rice, and the glutinous rice. The mountain 
rice (Oryza montana, Lour.), distinguished by its long grains and epi- 
dermis, would seem to be a distinct species. 

The following is the plan generally adopted in China : When the 
rains of June begin to fall, the ground is covered with water to the 
depth of an inch or two, and ploughed. The humus is then reduced 
to a sort of fluid pulp by harrowing. After this preparation the 
water is let off, and the seed sown broadcast, and a roller is passed 
over the ground to embed the seed. The land then remains dry for 
a week. When the rice begins to spring up a small quantity of 
water is given, but not enough to cover the young plant, which would 



KICE. 



325 



kill it. The quantity is increased as the plant grows. Forty or 
fifty days after the sowing the transplanting begins. Land is pre- 
pared and laid out with trenches surrounding it to hold water. It is 
then trenched and harrowed, and the planting out proceeded with. 
For eight days, however hot it may be, the plants are not watered, 
but when the leaves begin to develop the soil is covered with a small 
quantity of water, which is increased as the plant grows. 

It is calculated that the aquatic rice only yields a return of 25 for 
one, but that it might yield up to 80. The upland or mountain rice 
is, however, said to be more profitable, for it is not unusual to obtain 
100 to 120 for one. This abundance is explained by the habit which 
rice has to tiller, and a single grass will often produce many stems, 
crowned with numerous spikes of grain. 

Formosa. — The chief agricultural crop in this island is rice, grown 
in irrigated, or rather inundated fields. Much labour and skill must 
have been bestowed upon the levelling of the fields and the provision 
of the supply of water, which is conducted by artificial channels from 
elevated springs, or from the upper courses of streams. The rice 
fields of the plain of Bangka, ten or twelve miles inland, are chiefly 
supplied by a stream which is conducted from a higher part of the 
Tamsuy Eiver, and is carried across another stream at Kiang-beh, 
by a wooden aqueduct of 100 yards or more in length. Two har- 
vests in each year are obtained from the irrigated fields. In No- 
vember or December, after the removal of the autumn crop, the 
fields are ploughed up. The fields remain vacant for about four 
months, save that about the end of January seed is grown in nursery 
patches sheltered from the north-east. In February or March, the 
fields are in course of preparation for planting. Besides the plough, 
two kinds of harrows are used, namely (1) the "blade-harrow" 
(locally called " Kiva-pay ") a wooden-frame, holding beneath it two 
sets of metallic blades, which make parallel cuts through the clods 
or mud as the implement is drawn along by a buffalo, the driver 
standing on the frame; (2) the "hand harrow" (or "Chew-pay"), of 
iron, with a long row of spikes. This seems to complete the stirring 
of the ground. In the latter part of March, or the early and middle 
part of April, the fields, now in a state of soft mud, are planted out 
with the young rice plants. In taking up the strong plants from the 
nursery patches, a sort of flat spatula is passed underneath, so as to 
take off a very thin slice of earth with the plants upon it. 

In the immediate neighbourhood of Tamsuy, about a fortnight 
before the harvest, the rice is laid down, four adjacent rows being 
folded together, and so laid that the ears of each cross-row shall rest 
upon the cross-row in front of it. It does not appear that this prac- 
tice is followed in the more sheltered inland country. In July the 
crop is reaped. The grain is thrashed out immediately in the fields. 
There is a tub, within which is placed obliquely a set of wooden 
bars. The operator takes by the lower end a handful of rice stalks, 
and gives it a few smart blows upon the bars, detaching the grain, 
which is received in the tub. A curtain, supported by bamboo sticks, 
keeps the grain from flying overboard. The tub is dragged forward 
as the progress of the work requires. The ground is then speedily 



826 



BIOS. 



got ready for the planting out of the second crop, the young plants of 
which are already growing upon nursery patches. In preparing the 
fields for the second crop, the implement chiefly used in the locality 
is the " lah-tak." This is a wooden roller, four or five feet long, and 
twelve or fifteen inches in diameter, very deeply-grooved longitudi- 
nally, so that its rectum would be a seven-pointed star, and mounted 
in a wooden frame, in which the driver stands. The lah-tak is drawn 
by a buffalo, over or through the wet land, the rollers revolving and 
stirring the soft surface by the action of its grooves and ridges. The 
second crop is planted out in the latter part of J uly or early part of 
August, and is reaped in or about the first week of November. This 
completes one year. In some cases the second crop is planted before 
the reaping of the first crop, the young plants being placed among 
those of the first crop. The planting out of the first crop in the 
spring, and the harvesting of the second crop in late autumn, are 
liable to interference from the chill blasts and driving rain of the 
north-east monsoon. The frequent prevalence of wet weather in 
winter is a well-known peculiarity of this region. In summer there 
is sometimes an unfavourable continuance of dry weather. In the 
plain of Banjka, and in the regions to the south, the seasons are 
somewhat earlier, and there seems to be some difference in the mode 
of procedure. The dry ground rice, grown without irrigation, locally 
called " e-neap," or " i-liap," may be seen occasionally inland, and it 
is said to be cultivated by the wild aborigines of the mountains. It 
appears to be verj' fine rice, but to yield only one crop a year, and 
not to succeed well if the weather be dry. There are flour-mills 
worked by the overshot water-wheel. The wind-mill, which might 
be very useful in China, seems to be unknown to the Chinese, as it 
was to the ancient civilized nations of the west. 

A simple contrivance, called the "water-hammer" or "water- 
pestle," is used for the pounding, to clean away the integument of 
the rice. The pestle is fixed like a hammer-head in the end of a 
beam which moves on an axis. The other end of the beam holds a 
bowl or shallow bucket, into which falls a small stream of water. 
When the bucket is full, its weight and the impulse of the falling 
stream send it downward, raising the pestle ; but in sinking it pours 
out its contents and passes out of the course of the stream. The 
pestle then falls, bringing the bucket under the stream again, and so 
the process repeats itself. 

Japan. — The surface of the paddy fields in Japan is estimated at 
1,587,757 hectares; the annual yield is said to amount to 50,512,000 
hectolitres, of a total value of 6,500,000Z. sterling, the average pro- 
duce being about 3181 litres per hectare. 

The young rice plants are set out in the paddy fields in regular 
rows of bunches towards the end of May or the beginning of June, 
having been previously raised in some different place. The harvest 
takes place in September or October. 

Rice wine, or sake, as it is locally called, forms the principal and 
almost the only alcoholic beverage of Japan. It is made exclusively 
of rice. In preparing the ferment the rice is washed, steamed during 
several hours, and spread out on mats to lower the temperature ; after- 



RICE. 



327 



wards it is kept in a warm room for several days, where it is mixed 
with a certain quantity of rice covered with fungi ; these latter spread 
rajndly over the whole surface of the rice. The fermenting wort is 
made of fresh rice, also steamed, and mixed with water and a certain 
percentage of ferment in small tubs. A large cool is filled with these 
mixtures, and kept for about eight days at a certain temperature, 
which is maintained by introducing a vessel filled with hot water 
into it. The wort first gets a sour taste, whereupon the temperature 
is lowered ; at a later period the taste becomes bitter, and the wort 
is cooled so as to stop further fermentation. In January the real 
brewing begins. Again fresh rice is steamed, washed with a con- 
siderable percentage of both the ferment and the wort, mixed with a 
sufficient quantity of water. The whole is then transferred into big 
vats, frequently stirred, and left for about twenty days, at the expira- 
tion of which period it usually acquires a vinous taste. The mash is 
now placed in bags and pressed, and the liquid runs out into casks, 
where it settles, whence it is tapped when quite clear. The clear 
liquid is then heated up to a certain point and kept in large butts. 
This sake is generally drank hot at meals. The residues and the 
spoiled sake are distilled, and the alcoholic liquid used for making 
the " mi-rin " or sweet liquor. The total production of sake in 1874 
was estimated at 6,501,083 hectolitres, that of certain inferior kinds of 
sake at 127,446 hectolitres, that of brandy at 60,577 hectolitres, that 
of sweet alcohol liquors at 56,712 hectolitres. 

Java. — There are three principal varieties of rice reckoned here: 
Oryza glutinosa, or Ketan ; Oryza sativa, or paddy ; and sawa {Oryza 
Montana), with a variety called Paddy Girek. This last sort falls 
from the stem immediately after being cut. Besides these principal 
kinds, there are more than one hundred varieties, some of which are 
cultivated in upland grounds, but the greater part in irrigated lands. 

The mean temperature varies very little in Java in the various 
regions, even at different elevations. Eice grows as well at heights 
3500 feet above the level of the sea, where at six in the morning 
before sunrise the thermometer only marks 10° Eeaum., while in 
the day it will ascend to 20°. The stalks are, however, less heavy, 
and the grain ripens quicker than in the interior, where it will not 
ripen under eight months. 

The yield cannot well be fixed, for this depends upon the kind of 
rice and the nature of the soil. A return of 80 to 100 for one is con- 
sidered very good, although this is sometimes exceeded. 

The time of sowing and transplanting varies, depending upon the 
nature of the rains, as the sowing commences in the wet season. 

The culture of rice is the principal occupation of the people, as it 
is not only the chief source of their food, but there is a surplus for 
export. 

In 1873 the culture of rice in the island occupied 6,250,000 acres, 
and the produce was 52,244,230 piculs, without reckoning the culture 
in the environs of Batavia and the provinces which are partially in 
the hands of the native princes. The table rice is called Beras. The 
glutinous rice is employed for making pastry ; the red rice is given to 
poultry and horses ; the black rice is more remarkable for its colour 



328 



RICE. 



than for its quality. In Java as in Sumatra there are two different 
climates, one in the lower regions, which are tropical, and those of 
the higher plains and mountains, which resemble the climate of 
Southern Europe. 

In 1863, 126,537,000 lbs. of rice were exported from Java; in 
1870 310,722 piculs. 

Borneo. — Both the soil and climate are here very favourable to the 
growth of rice, but little more is grown at present than would appear 
to suffice for hoDie consumj)tion. It is raised in almost every part of 
the country. Its price is from 80 dollars to 97 dollars the koyan 
of 5220 lbs. 

In the Philippines the hill rice is sown in May, and cut in October ; 
whilst that of the plains is planted generally in July or August, and 
gathered in December and January. Rice forms the staple article of 
food for the inhabitants. Its price varies, according to locality. 

One quinon (or about 7 acres of land) in the province of Bulacan 
is said to produce on the average 250 to 300 cavans (96 lbs. each) 
of paddy. Were the system of irrigation understood and generally 
practised, the cultivation of rice might be considerably augmented. 

Africa. — The cultivation of rice undoubtedly dates from the oldest 
periods of which we have any historical record, " Cast thy bread 
upon the waters : for thou shalt find it after many days," * evidently 
applies to rice, which in Egypt is always sown whilst the waters of 
the Nile still cover the land, the retreating floods leaving a rich 
deposit of thick alluvial silt, in which the rice vegetates luxuriantly. 

The chief rice grounds of Egypt are in the Delta, and the choicest 
in the environs of Damietta. . The beating and husking are effected 
with American machines. The commerce in rice centres almost 
exclusively at Alexandria, Damietta, and Rosetta. 

Rice is cultivated abundantly by the negro tribes of East Africa to 
the Monomoisy inclusive, bearing everywhere its Malay name of 
" padi." Cademosta met with rice on the Gambia. And Lopes 
(a.d. 1588) speaks of " a grain brought to Congo not long since 
from the river Nilus, and called ' luco ; ' " in which word we readily 
recognise the Egyptian name of rice. It is also grown on the west 
coast of Africa, and in the islands of Ceylon, Reunion, Mauritius, and 
Madagascar. From Madagascar we received upwards of 10,000 cwts. 
in 1875. 

Brazil. — Vast plains and even slopes of hills favour throughout this 
empire the culture of rice, which sometimes grows to three feet in 
height, and produces more grain than the fertile lands of India. 
Maranham rice rivals that of Carolina, and on the marshes and banks 
of the rivers of Mato Grosso, or those of the San Francisco and others, 
it grows and yields excellent crops without labour. 

Wallace, in his ' Travels on the Amazon,' thus describes the pro- 
cess by which the rice is freed from its husk at Para. The grain 
first iDasses between two mill-stones, not cut, as for grinding flour, 
but worked flat, and by this the outer husk is rubbed off. It is then 
conveyed between two boards of similar size and shape to the stones, 
set all over with stiff iron wires about | of an inch long, so close 

* Ecclesiastes, xi. 1, 



KIOE. 



329 



together tliat a grain of rice can just be pushed in between them. 
The two samples very nearly touch another, so that the rice is forced 
through the spaces of the wires, which rub off the rest of the husk 
and polish the grain. A quantity, however, is broken by this opera- 
tion, so it is next shaken through sifters of different degrees of fine- 
ness, which separate the dust from the broken rice. The whole rice 
is then fanned to blow off the remaining dust, and finally passes 
between rubbers covered with sheep skin with the wool on, which 
clean it thoroughly, and render it fit for the market. The Para rice 
is remarkably fine, being equal in quality to that of Carolina, but, 
owing to the carelessness with which it is cultivated, it seldom shows 
so good a sample. No care is taken in choosing seed or in preparing 
the ground, and in harvesting a portion is cut green because there are 
not hands enough to get it in quickly when it is ripe, and rice is a 
grain which rapidly falls out of the ear and is wasted. It is therefore 
seldom cultivated on a large scale, the greater portion being the 
produce of Indians and small landholders who bring it to the mills to 
sell. 

United States. — Eice was first introduced into Virginia in the year 
1647. In 1698 about 60 tons were shi|)ped from Charleston to 
England. In 1718 its cultivation was commenced in Louisiana by 
the " Company of the West." The rapid development of its cultiva- 
tion will be seen from the fact that in 1724 South Carolina exported 
18,000 barrels; in 1740, 90,110 barrels; and in 1760, 100,000 
barrels. Since that time the swamps of South Carolina have proved 
well suited for the production of rice ; and not only has the cultiva- 
tion been effected with trifling labour, but the grain produced possesses 
a remarkably fine quality, being decidedly larger and handsomer than 
that of the countries whence the seed was originally derived. The 
following table shows the exports of domestic rice before and since 
the civil war : 



Lbs. 

1810 84,452,263 

1820 56,226,103- 

1830 74,920,431 

1840 65,339,731 

1846 92,866,561 



Lbs. 

1850 77,467,909 

1865 1,666,442 

1866 2,212,901 

1870 2,133,014 

1871 455,842 



As will be seen from the above figures, the exportation since the 
war instead of increasing is decreasing. The re-exports of foreign in 
1869 amounted to 8,868,664 lbs., in 1870 to 15,212,883 lbs., and 
in 1871 to 10,215,940 lbs. 

In 1840 the rice crop of the United States amounted to 
80,841,422 lbs., that of 1850 to 215,812,710 lbs., and that of 1860 
to 187,140,178 lbs. The production of 1870 was but 78,600,000 lbs. 
Evidently this industry has not recovered from the effects of the war 
as has the cotton crop. The rice plantations of the Southern States 
were not so universally abandoned during the war as were the cotton 
plantations ; therefore this can hardly be urged as the cause of the 
languishing condition of rice production, while the cotton crop has 
not only fully recovered, but exceeds the production of the last year 
before the war by 500,000 bales. The true cause must be looked for 



330 



RIOE. 



in tlie 80 per cent. duty. While foreign pays such an exorbitant duty, 
it cannot decline for any length of time beyond a certain limit. In 1860 
the exports amounted to over 81,600,000 lbs. ; in 1871, under a duty 
of 80 per cent., to 445,000 lbs. The countries south of the United 
States, viz., Cuba, Porto Eico, and the West Indian Islands, Mexico, 
Venezuela, and other Central and South American countries, are the 
largest consumers of rice in the world, with the exception of China. 
These countries, instead of seeking their supplies from the United 
States, now draw them mostly from England, and all because the rice 
cannot be cleaned and dressed in the United States. The duty on 
raw rice drives it to Liverpool to be cleansed, and from there it is 
exported in direct competition with American exporters, who obtain 
their supplies for export from the same port, as Government, while 
refunding the 2^ per cent, duty on cleaned rice, does not refund the 
additional 10 per cent, levied on rice imported from places other 
than the countries of production. 

In 1869 the crop of South Carolina, as returned by the census 
authorities, was 32,304,825 lbs.; of Georgia, 22,277,380 lbs.; of 
North Carolina, 2,059,281 lbs. Production had nearly ceased in 1865. 

In Georgia, two-thirds of the rice is grown in Chatham and Camden 
counties ; half in the vicinity of Savannah. In South Carolina, 
nearly half of the crop is grown in Georgetown. The following 
figures show how small a district yielded the rice in the palmy days 
of 1859 : 



South Carolina. | Lbs. 


Georgia. 


Lbs. 


Georgetown 
Charlestown 

Total .. .. 
Twenty-four otherl 
counties . . , . / 

Total .. .. 


55,805,385 
22,838,98i 
18,899,512 
18,790,918 


Cliatliam 
Mcintosh 

Total .. .. 
Eighty-eight other"! 
counties . . . . / 

Total .. .. 


25,934,160 
10,330,068 
6,421,100 
4,842,755 


116,334,799 
2,765,729 


47,528,083 

4,979,569 

■ 


119,100,528 


52,507,652 



The rice crop has been steadily increasing in quantity in South 
Carolina, but decreasing in price : 





Year. 


Crop, 
Tierces of 640 lbs. 


Lbs. 


Value per lb. 






1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 


4,119 
21,031 
25,114 
36,445 


2,677,350 
13,670,150 
16,324,100 
23,689,250 


cents. 
13 
11 
9 

Si 





The value of the crop of 1869 was 309,782Z. ; 5367 tierces were 
locally consumed, and the rest exported. 18,000 bushels of rough 
rice were shipped from Wilmington in 1868. 



BICE. 331 



I append a tabular statement of the yield in tierces for five years : 





Year. 


North 
Carolina. 


South 
Carolina. 


Georgia. 


Total. 






1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875* 


tierces. 
500 
600 . 
750 
600* 


tierces. 
42,842 
47,240 
43,067 
47,268 
50,000 


tierces. 
11,250 
19,874 
23,702 
21,671 
23,000 


tierces. 
54,592 
67,714 
67,519 
69,539 
73,000 





* Estimated. 



A larger area of territory is each year being brought into cultiva- 
tion, and great improvement made every season in the quality of the 
crop. Considering the impoverished condition of that section, and 
the many disadvantageous surroundings, the advance of the five years 
is remarkable. The following is the milled product of the three 
rice-growing States, viz., Georgia, and North and South Carolina, since 
the war: 

Lbs. Lbs. 

1866 7,500,000 1869 36,087,600 

1867 14,602,200 1870 40,641,000 

1868 18,477,000 1871 41,000,000 

The rice crop of Louisiana is an industry of increasing importance, 
and particularly so from the fact that its cultivation exacts the 
investment of but a limited amount of capital. When fields are 
once divided by ditches, and a substantial culvert and sluice gate, 
to admit the water from the river, are constructed, every preparation 
for commencing the cultivation of this product has been made. The 
entire cost for preparing the land and for seed is estimated at 
3^ dollars per acre. Its cultivation and shocking amount to 
13 dollars more, and the expenditure 6 dollars, for threshing and 
handling, sums up 22 dollars for twelve barrels of rough rice, which 
can be produced on one acre. Milling, freight, package, insurance, 
drayage, and commission will amount to 3 dollars 40 cents more, 
making a total expenditure of 36 dollars 40 cents for 1200 lbs. of 
clean rice worth 84 dollars. It will be seen that a net profit of 
47 dollars 60 cents per acre is thus given, making allowance for the 
wages of labourers and every other expense. Heretofore 100 acres 
has been considered the task of three men, which would pay each 
1588 dollars 33 cents for six months' work, or salaries that at the 
present time would be pronounced enormous were the talent and 
muscular force invested considered. Really, however, their profits 
would be much greater. Ploughing for rice entails scarcely any 
labour, the earth being turned up but for a few inches, and by per- 
forming their own work fully 3000 dollars could be saved. The 
same is true of cultivation, the occasional flooding of the land being 
the chief requisite. Only during the harvest season is a large 
force required, and the adoption of the newly-invented labour- 
saving machines would materially reduce the estimated cost. A 



332 



KICE. 



time was wlien that part of South Carolina flooded by the tide of 
Ashley and Cooper rivers was believed to be the only spot of ground 
in America where rice could be profitably cultivated. It was also 
believed the African was the only human being who could thrive in 
the miasma the plenteous use of tide-water generated. Both theories 
have been disproved. Louisiana rice is now largely cultivated by 
white labourers. 

In Louisiana the growth is in quite as encouraging a condition as 
on the coast. Previous to the war its product was exceedingly 
limited, all being absorbed by the local trade. Inferior in colour, 
with indifferent milling facilities, the quality rated far below that 
raised on the coast or even most foreign kinds. The past few years 
have been attended with serious disasters, inflicting great damage 
and curtailing the yield, which under favourable circumstances 
would have been much larger. In 1870 the early fall of the Missis- 
sippi prevented proper irrigation : in 1871 considerable injury re- 
sulted from the Bonnet Carre Crevasse. The increase is, however, 
noteworthy, as the statistics of annual growth in that section since 
the war proves : — 

Lbs. ! l.bs. 

1866 ... .. 4,502,080 i 1869 12,750,820 

1867 4,7<i5,860 1870 13,476,320 

1868 9,089,740 | 1871 18,000,000 

Great advances have also been made by planting selected seed, and 
adding to this improved milling advantages, the general standard is 
raised very materially. Viewing the whole field and taking the 
increase of cultivation in the past five years as a basis of calculation, 
the futui'e is assuring, giving every evidence of its speedy reinstate- 
ment as one of the great national products of America. 

A pamphlet, published locally by Mr. Bouchereau, remarks : — 
" Should the cultivation of rice continue to increase in Louisiana as 
it has been doing since the war, we shall soon equal South Carolina in 
the production of this valuable cereal, the rapid increase in its culti- 
vation here proving to be highly profitable. 

"Many large plantations are now cultivated with rice which formerly 
produced quantities of sugar. Before the war rice was only grown 
in a small portion of the parish of Plaquemines, and but in small 
patches. Now it is largely cultivated in several parishes, and there 
are still vast quantities of marsh lands which could be advantageously 
devoted to it, wherever the proper irrigation can be applied at the 
proper time. 

" The average yield of rice to the acre in Louisiana is fifteen barrels 
of rough rice, although on the Star plantation, in the parish of 
Plaquemines, nineteen barrels were gathered to the acre last year, 
which is equal to eight and a half barrels of clean, merchantable rice.'* 

But the extension of rice culture in Louisiana is a triumphant 
refutation of the baseless assertion that the business cannot prosper 
under the most favourable present circumstances. The census exhi- 
bits it as follows : 1849, 4,425,349 pounds ; 1859, 6,331,257 pounds ; 
1869, 15,854,012 pounds. The record of M. Bouchereau, by planta- 
tions, accounts for a total crop in 1869 of 100,748 barrels of 200 



RICE. 



333 



pounds each, or 20,149,600 pounds. The crop of 1870 was not a 
successful one. In 1859 Plaquemines parish yielded 4,635,500 
pounds of the crop of 6,331,257 pounds, or about two-thirds of the 
total product of the State ; in 1869 the same parish produced 
6,247,400 pounds, and yet it was less than a third of the crop of 
the State, and returns were made from fourteen other parishes. 

These facts show the culture of rice is rapidly extending in 
Louisiana, and may be extended to nearly every parish in the State ; 
it is slowly but surely overcoming its serious hindrances on the 
marshes of the Atlantic coast ; it has been mainly carried on by 
negroes on their own account, as a business in which they have had 
a lifetime training. 

In referring to the recapitulation of the crops for 1872-73 we find 
the following particulars : 



Parishes. 


Steam-power 
Eice Mills. 


Horse-power 
Rice Mills. 


Crop. 








barrels. 








435 


St. John the Baptist 


i 




1,250 


St. Charles 


1 


2 


5,402 








308 




i 




12 








117 




5 




30,254 




1 


13 


11,741 






4 


1,224 








884 








579 


Total .. .. 


9 


19 


52,206 



The following is the of&cial return of American rice production 
at three decennial periods : — 



States. 


1850 


I860. 


1870. 




lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 




2,312,252 


493,465 


222,945 




63,179 


16,831 


73,021 




2,140 






1,075,090 


223,704 


401,687 




38,950,691 


52,507,652 


22,277,380 




5,688 








4,425,349 


6,33i,257 


15,854,012 


Mississippi 


2,719,856 


809,082 


374,627 




700 


9,767 




North Carolina . . 


5,465,868 


7,593,976 


2,059,281 


South Carolina . . 


159,930,613 


119,100,528 


32,304,825 




258,854 


40,372 


3,399 




88,203 


26,031 


63,844 




17,154 


8,225 








716 








3,286 




Total .. .. 


215,313,497 


187,167,032 


73,635,001 



334 



EICB. 



The appended statement of exports and imports of rice lias been 
furnished by Edward Young, Chief of Statistics in the Treasury- 
Department : — 







Domestic Exports. 




Years. 




















Tierces.* 


Barrels.f 


Lbs 


Value. 










dollars. 


1850 


127,069 


• * 


7fi 94.1 4nrt 


2 , 631 , 557 


1851 


105,590 




ao OKA nnrt 


2,170,927 


1852 


Tin rrOO 

119,733 


• • 




2,4/1 ,029 


1853 


67,707 




ft?? 079 fiOO 


1,667,658 


1854 


105,121 




2,634, 127 


1855 


52,520 


1Q 74.4. 


4.91 <^00 
OV , T:Zi , DUU 


1 ,717,953 


1856 


58,668 


fi 1 HQa 

01 , Uoo 
74. QOQ 


fi7 ft! ft noo 


2 , 390 , 2o3 


1857 


64,332 


ftS ^90 fiOO 
Do , O^S , oUU 


2,290,400 


1858 


64,015 


4.Q OQQ 
tty , Zoo 


199 900 


1,870,578 


1859 


81 , 820 


69,946 
77,837 


75,070,400 


2,207,148 


1860 


84,163 


81,632,600 


2,567,399 


1861 


39,162 


50,038 


43,512,400 


1,382,178 


1862 


2,146 


7,335 


4,221,600 


156,899 


1863 


494 


3,496 


1,694,800 


83,404 






5,442 


2,176,800 


84,217 


1865 




2,458 


983,200 


65,105 


1866 




2,212,901 


136,993 


1867 






1,394,007 


100,338 


1868 






3,079,043 


170,357 


1869 






2,232,833 


145,934 


1870 






2,133,014 


127,655 




Foreign Exports. 


Imports. 


Years. 




















Lbs. 


Value, 


Lbs. 


Value. 






dollars. 




dollars. 


1861 


348,900 


10,856 


148,550 


3,610 


1862 


2,339,146 


103,738 


56,961,317 


1,589,109 


1863 


7,844,068 


392,134 


61,196,740 


1,760,077 


1864 


7,637,635 


452,722 


99,691,447 
60,407,756 


1,911,330 


1865 


8,290,318 


559,465 
337,016 


1,474,393 


1866 


8,656,060 


76,209,397 


2,379,857 


1867 


4,676,082 


180,043 
403,941 


44,782,223 


1,219,387 


1868 


11,908,953 


59,140,707 


1,636,492 


1869 


8,868,664 


284,632 


54,065,191 


1,325,234 


1870 


15,212,833 


-454,316 


43,123,939 


1,007,612 



* Estimated at 600 lbs. each. f Estimated at 400 lbs. each. 



Export of rice from the United States 



1770 .. 


.. 150,529 brls. 


1840 


1800 .. 


.. 112,056 tierces. 


1850 


1810 .. 


.. 131,341 „ 


1860 


1820 .. 


.. 88,221 „ 


1870 


1830 .. 


116,517 „ 





101,617 tierces. 
105,590 „ 
136,054 „ 
3,555 „ 



The largest export was 175,019 tierces in 1827. 

Upland rice is an important crop not only for home use, but pays 
well for its cultivation, and should be more generally looked after 
than it is. It will pay to grow it as a green crop, for it bears two 



THE MILLETS, OR SMALL-SEEDED FOOD-GRAINS. 



335 



cuttings a year below 32° nortli latitude, and makes a liay which 
sheep, horses and cattle prefer to the best grass product known. The 
fact that a rice-huller has been invented that will cost little more 
than a coffee mill, and enable the good woman of the house to grind 
out a meal of rice with as much ease as she would grind her mess of 
coffee, and always have rice, or rice batter cakes or rice pudding on 
the table, will make it a greater inducement than ever for every 
family to plant a patch of rice. Sandy land, level and fertilized, is 
best for upland rice. Land that will yield 25 or 30 bushels of corn 
per acre will produce 50 bushels of rough grain, that will, when 
hulled, leave 25 bushels of clean rice, say 1,200 pounds, that, at 5d. 
a pound, would be worth 2U., and the straw is worth one-third more. 

The following shows the land under cultui-e with rice in some of 
the principal producing countries as far as can be ascertained with any 
precision : — 



Acres. 

Madras 4,000,000 

Bengal 35.000,000 

Cochin-China .. 700,000 

Ceylou 49i,592 

Pondiflierry and j 

other French pos-J 20,600 

sessions in India 



Acres. 

Java 5,500,000 

Menarlo 75,000 

Egypt 40,060 

Portugal 9,880 

Austria .. .. .. 1,398 



THE MILLETS, OR SMALL-SEEDED FOOD-GKAINS. 

The word millet has a widely extended signification, and embraces 
the edible seeds of various grasses, very dissimilar in habit and appear- 
ance. Li popular parlance the term is applied to almost all the small- 
seeded edible grains. In many countries different millets form large 
and important food-crops, and in some years considerable quantities 
have been imported into the United Kingdom. In 1870, besides 
Dhurra, we received 74,635 cwts. of millet, valued at 19,864Z. 

Thus in 1853 we received 158,159 cwts. of millet, in 1857 
230,451 cwts. of millet, and 147,187 cwts. of Dari or Dhurra, 
(S. vulgare) ; in 1870 74,635 cwts. of millet, valued at 19,864/., and 
70,735 cwts. of Dhurra, valued at 19,491Z. 

In England the millets are very seldom, eaten as food, and yet 
among the great variety of seed in this extensive group of plants (of 
which we as yet know comparatively little in an economic point of 
view) many form articles of large consumption in parts of Europe, 
Asia, Africa, and the West Indies. They pass under a variety of 
names in different localities ; in northern Africa the large-seeded 
species is known as Dhurra, and this occasionally reaches Mark Laue 
to be ground and mixed with flour. In the Yv" est India Islands it is 
known as Guinea corn, in India as Jowarrie, in Southern Africa as 
Kaf&r corn, in the United States as broom corn, and so on. 

Of these small food-grains Roxburgh remarks : " It is probable that 
through the whole of southern Asia as many of the inhabitants live 
on the various kinds of dry or small grain as upon rice, and they are 
reckoned fully as wholesome as that is." 

Dr. Forbes Watson, in his treatise ' On the Composition and 
Relative Value of the Food Grains of India,' also states that the 
millets in India occupy a position second to none in the country, and 



336 



INDIAN MILLET 03. GUINEA COIiN. 



form tlie staple food of a larger number of tlie population than per- 
haps all the other cereals put together. 

A third part of the inhabitants of the globe feed upon the different 
millets, especially those of Africa, the greater part of Turkey, Persia, 
and India. In Japan about 35,000,000 bushels of various kinds of 
millet are raised annually. Millet forms the principal sustenance of 
the people of Bokhara. The grain there yields so abundant a harvest 
that there is a large quantity for export. The seeds of millet are 
excellent for food both for domestic animals and man. The grain 
mixed with that of wheat gives an excellent bread, though a little 
heavy ; but generally it is boiled with milk, like maize meal ; it 
swells considerably in water. Millet fattens poultry in a very short 
time. The stalks serve for heating ovens or for cooking food in 
countries where fuel is scarce. The panicles of some, after the separa- 
tion of the grain, form excellent brooms ; the sale of these brooms in 
Italy, in Spain, France, and North America, is so remunerative that 
they enter largely into the value of the profits of cultnre. 

Millet is considered in Texas one of the very best for feeding 
horses, oxen, milch cows, and sheep during the winter months. The 
yield is very heavy ; so productive has it been found that in many 
regions of the State it nearly supersedes the use of fodder. 

The two genera Androjpogon and Sorghum are closely allied. Some 
of the best authorities consider the difference so slight as to warrant 
their union into one. General Munro is now at work upon a mono- 
graph of the Millets, and before long we may have some clear and 
definite information respecting them. 

The species are very imperfectly understood, and as yet badly 
described. Professor Parlatore, in a collection shown at the London 
Exhibition in 1862, enumerated the following species of Sorghum : — 



Sorghum compactum. 
„ durra. 
„ nigerricum. 
„ nigrum (S. vulgare). 
„ vulgare (three varieties). 



Sorghum saccharatum, Moencli. 
„ caff7'arum, Beauv, 
„ cernuura (c'l'ium), "Willd, 
„ elongation, Beauv. 
„ glycyckilum. 



The specific limits of the various Sorghums are not well ascer- 
tained. They are, however, much cultivated in different parts of 
Africa, in the West Indies, and various districts of North America 
and India, and have been introduced into Australia. 

The large Indian Millet or Guinea Coen (Andropogon Sorghum, 
Brotero ; Sorghum vulgare, Persoon ; Holcus Sorghum, Lin.), is grown 
in the warmer parts of Asia, and is very prolific ; the grains can be 
converted into bread, porridge, and other preparations of food ; it is 
the yellow cholum and jowarree of some districts of India. This is a 
beautiful grass, resembling in appearance Indian corn. It bears a 
small yellow seed, which when crushed makes a good auxiliary food 
for cattle or sheep. It grows on all kinds of cultivated soil, but best on 
those that are thoroughly cultivated and well manured. Indeed, few 
crops will pay better for high cultivation. This valuable plant has 
attracted a great deal of attention during the last few years, and has 
been highly recommended as a fodder crop. It is best suited for 
cultivation in countries where the temperature seldom falls below 



INDIAN MILLET OR GUINEA COEN. 



337 



60°. It will certainly grow in mucli colder climates, but scarcely 
pays ex]Denses. This forms with rice the staple food of the Madras 
Presidency, with rice and bajree that of the Bombay Presidency, and 
with wheat that of the North-West Provinces, Oudh, the Punjaub, and 
Central Provinces. 

This grain is universally cultivated, and is in fact in some parts 
the princij)al support of man and beast. It will grow upon most 
soils, but luxuriates in the black soil. There are several varieties, 
but principally one with red seeds and one with white. Some botanists 
recognize at least three species in cultivation, more or less extensively, 
in India — S. vulgare, Pers. ; S. cernuum, Willd. ; and >S^. hicolor, 
Moench ; whilst others regard them as mere varieties of the one 
species, which is extensively grown over the world, and exhibits, like 
all largely cultivated plants, a great tendency to variation. 

Dr. J. F. Watson gives the composition oi this seed as follows : 



Water 11-95 

Nitrogenous substances 8'6i 

Dextrine 3-82 

Sugar 1-46 

Fat 3-90 

Starch 70-23* 



* With husks. 

From an analysis of the half-grown plant raised in England, 
Dr, Voelcker found that it contained above 2^ per cent, of flesh- 
foiining matters, and about 11 per cent, of fat, or heat-producing 
matters. The composition was : 



Water 85-17 

Flesh- forming matters 2-55 

Fat or heat-producing matters ,. ,. 11-14 

Inorganic matters 1-14 



Total 100-00 



There was little or no sugar in the half-grown plant, but when 
three-quarters grown, there was as much as 5*85 per cent, of sugar 
in the lower part of the stem. "We have no analysis of Indian grown 
plants ; but it may be safely inferred, that if such a large amount of 
sugar was present in plants grown in a climate so ill suited for the 
production of sugar as England, a very much larger quantity would be 
found in plants grown in the tropics. 

From experiments carried on in India with plants as fodder 
producers, the following were found to be the results : 



Yellow Cholum, dry crop 

„ wet „ 

Chinese cane (Sorghum saccharatum)') 

dry crop / 

Cumboo, dry crop 



Weight of 
Foddei- per 
Acre. 


Days 
reqiiired to 
produce a 

Crop. 


lbs. 




10,000 


90 


12,000 


60 


20,000 


80 


15,000 


75 



z 



338 



SORGHUM OR DHURRA. 



Among the food-grains grown in the Madras Presidency, there 



were in 1870 devoted to 

Acres. 

Cholum (Sot^ghum vulgare) 4 , 855 , 000 

Ea^gy {Eleusine corocana) 1 , 611 , 000 

Y exagu (Panicum miliaceum) 1,605,000 

Cumboo (^Penicillaria spicatd) 3,197,000 

Gorralvi (Panicum italicum') 1,018,000 

Millet of various kinds 614 , 000 

Total 12,900,000 



In Ceylon there are about 72,762 acres under these small grains. 

Red Cholum. This is the S. {Andropogon) Caffrarmi, Kunth, of 
the Australians ; it is a variety of the white cholum, and is supposed 
to have been originally obtained from the south-eastern coast of 
Africa. In America it is by many considered a better sugar-producer 
than the Chinese species, and all agree that its sugar is much more 
easy to analyze. 

S. cernmim, Willd., Andropogon cernuus, Eoxb., of which the grain 
is white, forms the staff of life of the mountaineers beyond Bengal. 
It is much cultivated in India and other tropical countries. 

Sorghum or Dhurra is produced in considerable quantities in 
middle and lower Egypt for making bread. Being 40 or 50 per cent, 
cheaper in price than wheat, it is more commonly the food of the fellah 
or peasant than any other grain. The late Prof. Johnston states 
that from his analysis Dhurra flour contains 11^ per cent, of gluten. 

Schweinfurth tells us that a large yellow-grained variety of 
S. vulgare is known in the Khartoum markets as Soffra. The panicles 
are alDout nine inches long and four in diameter. In Algeria two 
species are grown, the Sorghum scoparium, Lin., with a red grain ; 
and the S. vulgare, Lin., with white grain. It is sown in April, in 
good deep soil, when not irrigated, or in June, when water can be 
had. These plants are, however, remarkable for their resistance to 
drought and their power of vegetation. 

The grain of the S. vulgare has a high food value both for man and 
animals. The Arabs merely cut all the panicles, and leave the green 
stalks standing, to feed their cattle. In 1870 there were ll,117 
hectares under Sorghum in Algeria, which produced 237,516 hecto- 
litres. In 1874 there was under Sorghum 

Hectares. 

By natives 24,588 

„ Europeans 5,102 

Total 29,690 



equivalent to about 74,000 English acres. The grain is known there 
under the names of bechna, dra, and durra. 

The dari from Jaffa is considered the best in the Mediterranean, 
on account of its whiteness and hardness. It used to be a large 
article of export from thence to the United Kingdom for feeding and 
distilling purposes. The yield of 1862 was as much as 7225 qrs., on 



BROOM CORN OR MILLET. 



339 



account of tlie latter rain having been abundant. Dari is used by the 
poorer classes there for making bread. 

In Natal the species of Sorghum grown are known as Kaffir corn. 

In 1870 the land under culture with it and the produce were as 
follows : 







Acres. 


Muids. 








45,047 
50 


172,077 
334 





The muid is nearly three bushels. There were also forty-eight 
acres under other millets, which yielded 1091 cwts. of grain. In 1875 
the land under millets was only 36,162 acres. 

Sorghum (Andropogon) saccharatum. This plant can be advan- 
tageously utilized for preparing treacle. For this purpose the sap is 
expressed at the time of flowering and simply evaporated ; the yield 
is from 100 to 300 gallons from the acre. 

This sugar-producing millet has been already alluded to at p. 218. 

Broom Corn or Millet [Sorghum Dhurra). Whether this is only 
a variety of Sorghum vulgar e, the Holcus Dhurra, Forsk., or a distinct 
species, it is impossible to state. Its seed-panicle is, however, loose 
and spreading instead of close and compact, like the principal kinds 
of Sorghum vulgare. One species of Sorghum, described as Sorghum 
Dhurra, is grown in Italy, in the United States, Australia, and other 
countries, for its panicles as a brush-making fibre. 

In 1876 there were ninety-six acres sown with it in Victoria, which 
yielded 2095 bushels of seed, and 338 cwts. of fibre. There are 
many thousand acres under culture with it in the United States. 
In 1875 there were in the State of Kansas 12,742 acres under 
broom corn, and 82,552 acres under other millets ; the produce was 
9,844,869 lbs. of broom corn and 218,252 tons of millet. The fol- 
lowing is the mode of culture pursued in America. 

The seed is sown with a seed-barrow or drill, as early in spring as 
the state of the ground will admit, in rows of 3|^ feet apart. As soon 
as the corn is above ground it is hoed, and soon after thinned, so as to 
leave the stalks 2 or 3 inches apart. It is only hoed in the row, 
in order to get out the weeds that are close to the plants, the remain- 
ing space being left for the harrow and cultivator, which are run in 
frequently so as to keep down the weeds. The cultivation is finished 
by running a small, double mould-board plough, rather shallow, be- 
tween the rows. 

The broom corn is not left to ripen, as formerly, but is cut while 
it is quite green, and the seed not much past the milk. It was 
formerly the practice to lop down the tops of the corn, and let it hang 
some time, that the brush might become straightened in one direction. 
Now the tops are not lopped till the brush is ready to cut, which, as 
before stated, is while the corn is green. A set of hands goes forward 
and lops or bends the tops to one side, and another set follows imme- 



340 



SHAMAY. 



diately and cuts ofif the tops at the place at which they are bent, and 
a third set gather the cut tops into carts or waggons, which take them 
to the factory. Here they are first sorted over, and parcelled out 
into small bunches, each bunch being made up into brush fibre of equal 
length. The seed is then taken off by an apparatus, with teeth like a 
hatchel. The machine is worked by six horses, and cleans the brush 
very rapidly. It is then spread thin to dry, on racks put up in 
buildings designed for the pui'pose. In about a week, with ordinary 
weather, it becomes so dry that it will bear to be packed closely. 

Carpet brooms, velvet brushes, and other kinds of brushes are made 
of the panicles. 

Panicums. — Panicum is the ricLest in species among the grasses. 
Hitherto about three hundred well-defined species are known, chiefly 
tropical and sub-tropical. Many are good fodder plants, whilst the 
seeds of several furnish palatable and nutritious table food. 

In Algeria the following are grown : — P. glomeratum ruhrum, ordi- 
nary millet (P. miliaceum) ; the brown Pekin (P. Pehmensis) ; the 
Persian millet (P. Persicum) ; another with a large spike (P. mono- 
stachyum, H. B.) ; bristling millet (P. echinatum), P. eriogonum ; 
and the Hungarian millet (P. Germaniciim or Italicum). 

Italian Millet (Panicum Italicum ; Setaria Italicd). — This grain 
is cultivated in many parts of India, and delights in a light, elevated, 
tolerably dry soil. It is much prized by the native Indians of all 
descriptions, who make cakes of it, and also a kind of porridge ; for 
the purposes of pastry it is little if at all inferior to wheat, and when 
boiled with milk forms a light and pleasant meal for invalids. The 
Brahmins hold it in high estimation, indeed more than any other 
grain. The seedtime for the first crop is June or July, and the 
harvest in September. A second crop may be had from the same 
ground between September and the end of January. This grain is 
commonly cultivated in the Himalayas, occasionally up to 6500 feet. 
There are three varieties of Italian millet. 

Chen A or Indian Millet ; Veragoo (Panicum miliaceum^ Lin.). — 
This does not appear to be a crop worth much attention. The grain 
is very inferior, and fetches a low price in the bazaars of India, 
while it is a very slow grower, and occupies the land a long time. 
Still it is extensively cultivated in most parts of India. In the 
Deccan it is sown in June or July by hand, is sometimes trans- 
planted ; requires weeding in August and September, and is reaped 
in November or December. Its grain is considered digestible and 
nutritious, and in some parts is mostly consumed unground. 

It is grown in Sicily, where it is called milium, or little millet, 
and there are two varieties, white and red. 

Shamay, — In Bengal Panicum miliare, Lam., is the species usually 
known as little millet. It would seem to be a native of India, and 
China, and is by no means extensively cultivated. In the Punjaub it 
is known as huthi. 



CUMBOO OR SPIKED MILLET. 



341 



Paniciim colonim, Lin. ; OpUsmeniis colonus, Beauv. — This small 
grain millet, which grows wild in parts of India in sufficient plenty, 
is collected in times of scarcity to be employed as food. 

Sawa Millet [Oplismenus frumentaceus, Kunth. ; Panicum fru- 
mentaceum, Eoxb.) — This plant is much less cultivated in India than 
P. miliaceum. It delights in a light, tolerably dryish soil ; the same 
ground, according to Dr. Eoxburgh, yields two crops, between the 
first of the rains in J une and July and the end of January. The seed 
is wholesome and nourishing ; it is an article of diet amongst the 
lower classes of the natives ; and yields about fifty-fold in a good soil. 
The seed is light, and easy of digestion ; it makes very palatable 
puddings, which children appear more partial to than those made of 
rice, to which grain, when boiled, it bears a striking resemblance, 
both in taste and appearance. 

CuMBOo or Spiked Millet (Pemcillaria spicata, Swartz ; Pennisetum 
typhoideum, TUch..; Holciis sjpicatus, Lin.; Panicum spicatim^ Roxb.). — 
Terminal cylindric spike erect, as thick as a man's thumb, from 6 to 
9 inches long ; seed obovate, pearl-coloured, smooth, with hilum. 

This plant yields in India about 668 lbs. of seed, and 3 tons of 
straw per acre. In some localities the grain is called bajra or 
bajree, and with the usual adjuncts of a little milk, &c., forms the 
chief article of diet of a very large number. 

Compared with rice, it is considerably more nutritious, containing 
about lOJ per cent, of gluten, and giving a proportion between the 
carbonaceous and nitrogenous compounds of from 7 to 7J per cent, of 
the former to one of the latter ; whereas the kind of rice most rich in 
gluten contains only about 8^ per cent, of that substance, and gives 
the proportion of a little more than 9 of the non-nitrogenous to the 
nitrogenous, thus involving the addition of a large quantity of some 
pulse or extra nitrogenous substance to maize, — the proportion 
between the flesh forming and heat and fat yielding constituents. It 
is this grain which is chiefly used for the Couscoussou of Northern 
Africa. It is known by the French as DehlcelS, and a report recently 
presented to the Agricultural Society of Bouches du Rhone recom- 
mends its culture in the Landes and Pyrenees. In certain districts 
it rises to the height of 9 or 10 feet. The seed may be planted in 
the close of April. In September or October the seed-spikes ripen ; 
the stalks, chopped, may be fed to cattle. With the decorticated pith 
of the stalk a pleasant beer can be made by the addition of hops. 

This grain is, fr-om the shape of its seed-spikes, called candle 
millet. It is the " benitche " of the Arabs of Africa. The spiked 
millet is as common in Africa as in Asia, at a distance beariDg some 
resemblance to our indigenous cat's-tail grass, or Timothy, in the form 
and size of its spikes. Many stems often proceed from the same root, 
and these are from 3 to 6 feet in height. The fruit-spike is dense, 
comj)act, and thicker than a man's thumb, from 6 to 9 inches in length 
in India, or twice as long as it grows in Africa. Except Sorghum this 
is the most commonly cultivated grain in India. 

Roxburgh says that it is sown about the beginning of the rains, 



342 



TEFF. 



that is about the end of June or beginning of July, and is ripe in 
September. It is much cultivated in the higher lands on the coast 
of Coromandel. The soil it likes is one that is loose and rich ; in 
such it yields upwards of a hundred-fold ; the same ground will yield 
a second crop of this or some other sort of dry grain during October, 
November, December, and January. 

The stalk is almost useless as fodder when dry, but cattle are some- 
times fed with it when green. The seeds are rather heating, and are 
used in cold weather mostly as flour. In Africa a kind of beer is said 
to be made from the malted grain. 

The per-centage composition of the grain is : 

Water 11-80 

Nitrogenous substances 10-13 

Fat 4-63 

Water ,. .. 71-75 

Eaggt, or Raggee (Eleusine corocana). — This grain is of high 
importance to the poor of India, from its hardiness and from the 
abundant return it gives. It will grow on almost any soil, but the 
yield will be proportioned to the quality of the soil and to the atten- 
tion bestowed on the cultivation. The seeds are usually ground into 
flour by the hand-mill, this being chiefly a bread-grain. In the south 
it is very largely cultivated, and extends north over the Punjaub plains 
to the Himalaya, where it is frequently found as far west as the 
Chenab up to 6000 and 7000 feet. This grain is the chief article of 
food amongst the labouring classes in Mysore and other parts of 
Southern India. It is usually stored in pits, and will keep good in 
them for many years. Eleusine stricta is said to be the most cultivated 
species of the two, as it is found to be the most productive. 

KoDA Millet {Paspalum scrohiculatum, Lin.). — This is a common 
and cheap grain, grown to some extent in most parts of India. It 
delights in a dry and loose soil. The seed is an article of diet with 
the Hindoos, particularly with those who inhabit the mountains and 
most barren parts of the country, for it is in such districts it is chiefly 
cultivated, being an unprofitable crop, and not sown where others 
more beneficial will thrive. 

Another undescribed species, believed to be P. exale, is grown 
in Sierra Leone, and other places on the West African coast, where it 
is known under the names of hungry rice and fundungi. 

Teff (Poa Ahyssinica, Jacq. ; Eragrostis Ahyssinica, Link.). — There 
are several varieties of this millet; though the seed is small it is 
abundant, and much used by the natives of Soudan; it forms the 
bread-corn of Abyssinia. 



ARROWROOT. 



343 



STAECH-PRODUCING PLANTS. 

Starcli is the chemical and common name, in some instances, for 
the fecula or amylaceous matter washed out from different parts of 
several plants, such as the seeds, roots, and cellular tissue of the 
stems. It is one of the most abundantly diffused of all proximate 
vegetable principles. 

Some kinds of starch are prepared for application in the arts, and 
by the laundress for stiffening linen ; others are more powdery and are 
used for food, such as the arrowroots and corn flours ; others again are 
granulated like the sagos and tapiocas. 

The colour of starch is usually pure white. In some cases a tinge 
of blue can also be seen, as in some wheat starch, while the starch 
from the potato has a slightly yellowish cast. The fineness of the 
starch powder depends on the size of the individual grains, except 
where the grains are artificially agglomerated, as in sago and tapioca ; 
the former is in small, round, white or brownish grains, while tapioca 
is in larger, irregular, white fragments. The individual starch grains 
vary much in size, though they are pretty constant in any given 
species. Oat, rice, and rye starches represent the smallest grains, 
while those of maize starch are much larger. The medium size is 
found in the grains of wheat and arrowroot starch. The largest grains 
are found in potato and Canna starch. In the last two the unaided 
eye can distinguish the largest individual grains, but in nearly all 
others they can be seen only under the microscope. The specific 
gravity is more than that of water, though it varies much with the 
state of dryness of the starch. Its average is given by Wiesner at 
1 • 5. It, however, varies with the different species of starch. The 
grains contain considerable water— as high as 80 per cent, when fresh, 
reduced sometimes to 7 per cent, when air dry. 

Under the microscope the starch grains present the form of minute 
grains of a form and structure characteristic for each species. 

They are for the most part bounded by curved surfaces — spherical, 
elliptical, egg-shaped, bent-shaped, &c. — but sometimes they have flat 
surfaces as well. They usually contain a dark spot, line, or cross 
within, which is sometimes central, sometimes eccentric. This spot 
is called the nucleus, and is generally small and round in starch found 
in fresh tissues, slit or cross-shaped in grains which have been dried.* 

Arrowroot. — The demand for colonial arrowroots has not pro- 
gressed very rapidly, owing, probably, to the imitation potato starch, 
and the corn and rice flours or starches so largely sold. 

In 1860 arrowroot to the value of 42,404/. was imported into the 
United Kingdom, in 1870 this had dropped to 33,068Z., but in 1875 
recovered to 56,143Z. In 1876 the imports into London were larger, 
amounting to 16,673 casks and 9102 boxes and tins. 

* Professor Harrington, in ' Ameriotin Journal of Pharmacy.' 



344 



ARROWROOT. 



The following have been the total imports of arrowroot into the 
United Eangdom, and the value : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


^ Value. 




cwts. 


£ 




cwts. 


£ 


1863 


11,436 


30,994 


1870 


16,919 


25,515 


1864: 


12,243 


30,567 


1871 




34,013 


1865 


17,691 


34,813 


1872 




33,771 


1866 


20,264 


33,868 


1873 




35,204 


1867 


20,786 


29,393 


1874 




41,281 


1868 


15,321 


23,111 


1875 




56,143 


1869 


15,870 


22,875 







Bermuda. — The arrowroot from this island has always been con- 
sidered the finest and the best quality made, its superiority either 
arising from the nature of the water or soil, or from greater care in 
the manufacture. In 1851 arrowroot to the value of 10,334Z. was 
shipped, this gradually declined to 3000Z. or 4000Z. in 1866, and now 
the culture has been altogether abandoned and given way to more 
profitable crops. The shipments in 1870 were only about 25 cwts. 
against 500 cwts. in 1868. 

In Bermuda arrowi'oot is planted in May and is ripe in March 
and April ; the time for manufacturing is in April and May, when the 
cold winds set in, ranging from north-west to east. The whole pro- 
cess is done in water. The root is grated or torn into a pulp, this is 
strained through three different sieves, each one finer than the other, 
left to settle in the bottom of the tubs, then collected into one tub, 
and passed through the fine sieve into clean water. When settled the 
brown starch is taken off the top of the white. This brown starch is 
much more astringent and efiicacious in bowel complaints than the 
white, and is locally preferred. The arrowroot is then passed through 
more clean water and a fine sieve for the last time, and settles in the 
tub. It is taken out, placed on cloths to harden, and then broken up 
fine on trays and dried in the wind and sun. Four barrels of peeled 
and cleaned roots will yield in good seasons about 100 lbs. of good 
arrowroot, and will take from five to six puncheons of clear soft or 
tank water, it will be about twenty-four hours in the water from the 
time of grinding till it is upon the cloths or drainers. 

Jamaica. — The quantity of land under culture with arrowroot 
varies. In 1869 there were 651 acres ; in 1870, 49J acres ; and in 
1874, 64 acres. The exports have declined year by year as follows : 

Lbs. Lbs. 

1866 70,204 1870 6,343 

1867 44,566 1872 .. .. .. 13,328 

1868 27,346 1874 4,592 

1869 11,731 

When made by the labourers in the West Indies on a small scale, 
arrowroot is prepared much in the same manner as potato starch in 
this country for domestic use ; the only implements required are a 
grater and wooden troughs and trays ; when made on a larger scale. 



AREOWROOT. 



345 



as on the estates of proprietors, the crushing of the root and the 
reducing it to a pulp are effected by simple and cheap machinery (a 
wheel and rollers) worked by water. The arrowroot is dried under 
sheds. Little or no use is at present made of the pulp after the 
extraction of the starch by lixiviation, but probably a serviceable 
paper might be made of it at a trifling cost. 

In St. Kitts arrowroot and tons les mois are produced to some small 
extent. In 1850, 95,460 lbs. were shipped ; in 1860, 35,128 lbs. ; and 
in 1870, 13,268 lbs. were received from thence in the United Kingdom. 

*S^^. Vincent. — The amount of arrowroot exported from this island is 
now about 2,000,000 lbs. ; in 1847 the quantity shipped was only 
297,587 lbs. ; and in 1851, 490,837 lbs. 

Many circumstances have promoted this increased culture. When 
it began the price of the article was high, and the grower obtained a 
largely remunerative profit ; its culture was not laborious ; it was 
subject to few risks ; it did not, for its success, require rich land or 
much manure ; there was a constant and increasing demand for it ; 
and in consequence of the abundance of pure water, great facilities 
were afforded for the manufacture, and that by a process so simple, 
easy, and cheap, as to require little skill in conducting it, and scarcely 
any capital. 

St. Vincent is the only arrowroot-producing colony that has kept 
steadily progressive, as the following figures will show. There will 
necessarily be slight fluctuations in the out-turn, according to season, 
&c. From 1850 to 1854 the quantity made in the island ranged from 
350,000 to 550,000 lbs., but of late years the production has often 
reached 2,250,000 lbs. In 1850 the shipments were 3573 barrels 
and 7493 boxes, valued at 15,864Z. The value of the shipments in 
the three years ending 1870 was a little over 17,300Z. per annum. 

Of late there has been a steady increase in the production, so that 
instead of the stationary figure of 7500 barrels, at which the exports 
kept from 1860 to 1865, they have risen above the large shipment of 
10,000 barrels in 1859. In 1867 and 1868 the average export was 
12,000 barrels ; in 1866, it rose as high as 14,645 barrels ; in 1869, 
to 11.226 barrels, being a decrease on the previous year of 422 barrels; 
in 1870 the shipments were 10,438 barrels. 

Barbados, Antigua, Montserrat, and Tortola used to produce arrow- 
root for shipment, but have given up the manufacture. 

On many parts of the West African coast arrowroot is grown and 
prepared. The Canary Islands, Liberia, Lagos, Sierra Leone, and 
other districts produce it, but not in any quantity for shipment. 

Culture in Natal. — The cultivation and manufacture of arrowroot 
has been very largely carried on in Natal for many years. It was a 
great favourite with early colonists, because it grows readily on 
coast lands unsuited for sugar and coffee. Its cultivation requires 
only a moderate capital, and yields quick and good returns. The root 
may be grown many years in succession in the same ground. 

The land to be planted is well ploughed and broken up at the com- 
mencement of the rains : old ground is better than new. The sets are 
taken from old stools, planted thickly in a simple plough furrow, and 
covered over with earth turned out of a parallel furrow. 



346 



ARROWROOT. 



A sort of nursery is formed in this way : In October and November 
the shoots are planted out in holes made about 12 or 14 inches 
apart ; the shoot is placed in the hole, set upright and pressed round 
with earth. Ten n:en, working methodically in gangs, can plant an 
acre in a day. The only care needed is to keep the ground between 
the plants free from weeds by hand hoeing. The soil best adapted for 
the cultivation should be fairly good, but light. Old bush or forest 
land is generally very excellent ; stony and heavy soils are unsuitable, 
because the tubers are apt to get clogged in it; their growth is stunted, 
and it is very difficult to dig them up. 

The crop is known to be ripe when the leaves fade ; at that time the 
tubers and offsets are densely filled with starch, and ready to be taken 
from the ground for manufacture. They are dug up and turned over 
with a fork, while pickers follow and shake off the earth and pick out 
the bulbs and collect them in a basket ; one forker keeps four pickers 
employed, and one picker can deal with fi'om 250 lbs. to 300 lbs. of 
tubers in a day. 

About 10 acres should be cultivated the first year, and by the time 
the produce is harvested there ought to be 20 acres of ground broken 
up, ready for planting, and calculated to yield a double income in the 
following years, with a decreasing expenditure. 

The manufacture requires care rather than skill, and the crop is 
less affected by vicissitudes of weather than almost any other that can 
be produced. The manufactory buildings may be of the simplest 
description, all that is required being free ventilation and protection 
from wet. The abundant water-power of the colony affords ready 
means of working the machinery. A water-wheel of 4 horse-power is 
sufficient to manufacture from 4 cwts. to 5 cwts. of starch per day. 
Fifteen Kafir labourers suffice for the management of 25 acres of plan- 
tation. As a drawback, on the other hand, the market for the starch is 
very uncertain and apt to be easily overstocked ; and the starch itself 
is so delicate in quality, that it is very liable to deteriorate and become 
damaged, even after it has been packed and shipped. The greatest 
cleanliness is required in its preparation. 

In the process of manufactm*e the tubers are pressed against a re- 
volving cylinder of rough tin (resembling a nutmeg grater), and the 
raspings are then subjected to repeated washings ; the fibrous refuse 
rises to the surface and is skimmed away, while the pure starch 
settles into a white paste, which is dried on calico trays, then broken 
into lumps, and packed in boxes for market. 

During the manufacture four hands are needed in the drying house 
and three in the grinding house. The arrowroot should be quite cold 
and ready to pack on the fifth day. As it readily contracts moisture 
from the atmosphere, it must not be packed in damp weather, and it 
should never be forgotten that the starch is apt to deteriorate in taste 
and colour if kept in proximity to substances that emit a strong odour, 
such as hides, sugar, or any decomposing organic matter. 

The yield of starch is tolerably much the same whether the growing 
season has been wet or dry. In wet seasons the tuber is large and soft, 
but its greater size is made up of moisture, pulp, and fibre, and not of 
starch. About 15 per cent, of starch should be obtained from good 



AEROWROOT. 



347 



bulbs, and this percentage would give one-tbird of a ton (worth about 
131.) of starch per acre. The refuse is excellent far manure. 

In selecting the land and site of operations, it is obvious that the 
close neighbourhood of a good stream of water must be secured. 

Much less capital is required for the manufacture of arrowroot 
than for that of any other article of tropical produce. No more is 
necessary than such as will just provide a residence for the planter, 
the simple buildings and machinery for the factory, the implements 
of husbandry, and food and wages for the labourers during the plant- 
ing, manuring, and manufacture of the crop. One hundred acres of land 
should be purchased, at from lOOZ. to 200Z. A rude dwelling and out- 
buildings may be erected for 70Z. or 80Z. ; machinery and manu- 
facturing appliances, 751. ; implements of husbandry and oxen, 120Z. ; 
wages and food of eight Kafir labourers for a year, 961. ; cost of 
living for the planter and his family until the return begins to come 
in, from 120Z. to 150Z. Taken altogether, a handy, industrious, and 
thrifty man may reckon upon making good his standing with arrow- 
root, if he starts with a capital of about 6001. 

The Cape Colony and Natal — especially the latter — have given 
much attention to arrowroot production. Maranta arundinacea is the 
species grown. In Natal, in 1864, from 226 acres, the quantity 
obtained was 2347 cwts. It is chiefly in the counties of Durban, 
Victoria, and Tugela that the cultivation centres, but the quantity 
varies considerably, for 61 acres in Tugela yielded 1220 cwts. ; 66 
acres in Victoria, 639 cwts. ; and 98 acres in Durban, 488 cwts. In 
1870 there were 386 acres under arrowroot. 

The following figures of the exports will show the progress made 
in production in this colony : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




cwts. 


£ 




cwts. 


£ 


1856 


818 


1,827 


1866 


2,804 


5,744 


3857 


1,397 


3,136 


1867 


4,305 


9,139 


1858 


2,218 


5,464 


18G8 


3,201 


5,501 


1859 


6,366 


13,336 


1869 


3,042 


4,684 


1860 


3,679 


6,680 
4,685 


1870 


3,323 


4,696 


1861 


2,436 


1871 


2,722 


3,858 


1862 


983 


1,547 


1872 


3,633 


5,647 


1863 


1,437 


2,801 


1873 


1,076 


1,485 


1864 


1,015 


2,843 


1874 


1,206 


2,226 


1865 


2,150 


3,943 









India. — The Maranta arundinacea was introduced into India about 
1840 by Mr. Elphinstone, and is now cultivated in many districts, 
especially in the Madras presidency. 

M. Lepine, chemist, of Pondicherry, states that he has obtained of 
fecula from the roots after 12 months' growth, 16 per cent. ; 14 months', 
15; 15 months', 14; 16 months', 12; 17 months', 11 ; and 19 months', 10 
per cent. The fecula is obtained from the underground shoots, which 
are white, fleshy, about 9 inches long by 1^ to 2 inches in diameter. 
They contain nearly 20 per cent, of fecula, but by the rude processes 



348 



AUSTRALIAN ARROWROOT. 



of rasping and washing not more tlian 12 per cent, on the average is 
obtained. Arrowroot is in extensive use in India, and some is also 
shipped to Europe. 

Australian Arrowroot. — Attention has of late years been much 
directed to the production of arrowroot in several of the Australian 
colonies, facilities having been afforded by the culture and distri- 
bution of the several plants from the excellent botanic gardens at 
Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. 

Canna Acliiras, Gillies, native of Mendoza, is one of the few extra- 
tropical Cannas eligible for arrowroot cultivation. 

G. glauca, Lin., and C. coccinea, Aitkin, yield, with some other 
Cannas, the particular arrowroot called tons les mois. C. fiaccida, 
Eoscoe, of Carolina, is probably also available for arrowroot. 

G. edulis, Ker, the Adeii*a of Peru, is one of the hardiest of the 
arrowroot plants, for seeds, even if many years old, will germinate, 
and are commonly called Indian shot. 

This species has been extensively introduced into Australia, and, 
according to Baron Mueller, yields an excellent starch at Melbourne, 
Western Port, Lake Wellington, Ballarat, and other localities, from 
plants supplied by the Melbourne Botanic Garden. 

The Eev. Mr. Hageuauer, of the Gij^ps Land Aboriginal Mission 
station, obtained 220 lbs. of arrowroot from -|- of an acre of this 
Canna. The gathering of the roots in Australia is effected about 
April. The plants can be set in ordinary ploughed land. Captain 
James Hall, of Hastings, prepared also starch largely from this root. 
The starch grains, it is well known, are remarkably large. 

Neiv South Wales. — Maranta nohilis ajipears to be the species chiefly 
cultivated for arrowroot in New South Wales. 

In 1870 there were 84 acres of land under arrowroot in New South 
Wales, from which 13,567 lbs. of arrowroot were obtained, being 
18,251 lbs. less than were made in the previous year from only 31 
acres of land. In 1872 from 26 acres 26,454 lbs. were made. 

Queensland. — This colony appears to be peculiarly suited for the 
cultivation of arrov^Toot, which is gradually supplanting the imported 
West Indian product in the Australian market. A very small price, 
about dd. per lb., remunerates the grower who manufactures on a 
large scale. The plants grown are Maranta arundinacea and Ganna 
edulis. Manihot utilissima and Jani^ha, and a Japanese variety, M. 
Japonka, are also cultivated. 

From Queensland, 26,368 lbs. of arro^Toot, valued at 548Z., were 
exported in 1869, the first shipment of a few packages having been 
made in 1860. The cultivation and manufacture of arrowroot is be- 
coming an important affaii* in that colony. The export of the article 
has gone on increasing for the last five or six years. In 1863 it 
scarcely had an existence ; in 1870 the export had reached 30,000 lbs. 
But the quantity exported is small in comparison with the quantity 
consumed in the colony ; for it is in favour with all classes of the 
community, and forms an easily digested, but nourishing and most 
appropriate article of food during their long, hot summer. As the 
majority of farmers on the coast lands, and not a few of the inland 



MANIOC, OR CASSAVA. 



349 



farmers as well, have a patch of roots and a mill and appliances for 
reducing them, the total quantity of starch made will probably be 
about 100,000 lbs. 

Pacific Isles. — A plant largely cultivated is the Tacca pinnatifida, 
Forster, which is indigenous to the sandy shores of the South Sea 
Islands, and is known in Oceania, but esj)ecially in Tahiti, under the 
native name of Pla. This plant is, however, now widely diffused. It 
is met with in China and Cochin-China, according to Loureiro. It is 
cultivated in the Moluccas, Arracan, and other parts of India, and at 
Zanzibar. It is found in large quantities in Cook's Archipelago, the 
Hervey Islands, at Eaiatea, Huahine, Bora-Bora, Maupiti, the 
Hawaiian Islands, the Samoas, Tonga, the Feejee Islands, &c. The 
tubercles bear much resemblance to the potato, but, unlike that root, 
the fecula is found chiefly in the centre and not towards the exterior. 
The proportion of starch yielded is 30^ per cent. 

There is a large consumption of this starch in Tahiti, especially for 
childi'en and invalids, and a considerable export of it under the name 
of arrowroot. The principal part of that which enters into commerce 
is made in the islands of the adjoining archipelago, Raiatea, Huahine, 
Bora-Bora, and Maupiti, where it can be purchased for dd. to S^d. 
per lb. In 1874, 27,746 kilos, of arrowroot were imported into Tahiti, 
but about 200 kilos, only are produced in the island. In the Hervey 
Islands it is sold at 2d. ; and Tubuai and Raratonga produce it even 
cheaper. At Tahiti it retailed, a few years ago, at 4:^d. to 6d. per lb. 

From it the main supply of the Feejee arrowroot is prepared. 
The Tacca starch is much valued locally, and particularly esteemed 
in cases of dysentery and diarrhoea. Its characteristics are readily 
recognized under the microscope. A Tacca occurring on the Sandwich 
Islands yields a large quantity of the so-called arrowroot exported 
from there. Other species, including those of Ataccia {Tacca) integri- 
folia, Presl., occur in India, Madagascar, Guinea, and Guiana, all 
deserving tests in reference to their value as starch plants. 

From Venezuela there was exported in 1873, 107,502 kilos, of starch 
(amidon). 

MANIOC, OR CASSAVA. 

This is the plant chiefly cultivated for food purposes in Brazil and 
in many of the West India Islands. No species of plants have been 
more changed in scientific nomenclature by botanists than these, for 
they have alternately been classed as Jatroplias, JanipJias, Manihots, 
Curcas, &c. I will adopt the names given by Pohl to the two principal 
species (for most of the others seem to be but mere varieties), the 
bitter or poisonous species, Manihot utilissima, and the sweet species, 
M. Aipi. 

The manioc would seem to be a native of Brazil ; it has been intro- 
duced into India, and is grown about Calcutta, Madras, the Straits 
Settlements, and other quarters. It flourishes better on the borders of 
the sea and on islands than in the interior of the continent. On the 
coast of Coromandel the roots are more fibrous, and, therefore, inferior 
to those raised in Malabar. It is extensively grown in Guiana, the 
West Indies, and various parts of Africa. 



350 



MANIOC, OR CASSAVA. 



The tubers of tlie bitter cassava attain a length of 3 feet. They can 
be converted into bread or cakes. The volatile poison of the milky- 
sap is destroyed by pressing the grated root in the first instance, the 
remaining acridity being expelled by the heating process. The starch 
heated while in a moist state furnishes the taj^ioca of commerce. 
Cassava is abundantly cultivated in Brazil and Venezuela — especially 
at Caraccas, where the singularly uniform temperature throughout 
the year is only 60° to 70° Fahr. It is a very exhausting crop, and 
stands in need of rich soil and manuring. The propagation is effected 
by cuttings from the ligneous part of the stem. 

The soil destined for manioc must not be wet. In warm countries 
the tubers are available in about eight months, though they still con- 
tinue to grow afterwards. The growth of the plant upwards is checked 
by breaking off the buds. The bitter species is the more productive 
of the two. The yellowish tubers attain sometimes a weight of 30 lbs. 
They do not become soft by boiling, like the Aipi or sweet manioc. 

The sweet species, though a native of tropical South America, 
extends as far south as the Parana river. The root is reddish and 
harmless, and can be used, unlike the bitter species, without any 
further preparation than boiling as a culinary esculent, irrespective of 
its starch being also available for tapioca. 

This plant will grow in almost any soil, but more luxuriantly in 
loose, dry, and especially sandy soils. The labour required for its 
cultivation is comparatively small and of the simplest kind. Except 
during the first month or two its growth is almost independent of 
rainfall or irrigation. Its productiveness is larger than that of any 
other article coming under dry cultivation. The mode of preparing it 
for the market, or for domestic consumption, is simple. The dietetic 
nature of it is excellent. 

From the roots of the two species many food products are obtained, 
among others, coarse cakes made by rasping and pressing the root, 
which are cooked on a hot plate. The fecula, heated on hot iron 
plates, becomes partially cooked, and agglomerated in small, hard, 
irregular lumps, and in this form is known as tapioca. This substance, 
partially soluble in water, forms a nourishing food, much appreciated 
in Europe. 

No less than thirty varieties of the mandioc (ManiJiot utilissima) are 
grown in Brazil, and of all the crops it is the one that gives the best 
return and the least trouble. An intelligent planter at Campos states 
that the square of 220 metres will grow 40,000 plants, which even in 
inferior soil will produce regularly 80,000 lbs. of farina. At the lowest 
valuation (60 reis per lb.) this would give a revenue of 520Z., a result 
superior to that derived from coffee, sugar, or cotton. The preparation 
of tapioca is easy and inexpensive, and also profitable. It has the 
further advantage of serving as food for cattle. 

Farinha de mandioc, in its crude form, is often seen at Brazilian 
tables, but is more frequently mixed with water and baked in thin 
cakes, in this state forming the bread of the poorer classes. It thus 
forms a nourishing and cheap food. 

Mandioc meal is produced on an extensive scale in the province of 
Santa Catharina, where they employ improved machines for preparing 



MANIOC, OE CASSAVA. 



351 



it, especially in the settlements. These producers supply the markets 
of the capital and of the other provinces. The foreign export of man- 
dioc meal in 1845 was 145,722 alquieres. Mandioc is the staple 
article of food for the whole population. There are more than 14,000 
manufactories, and the total production is calculated at upwards of 
500,000 alquieres. In abundant years the meal and fecula fall as 
low as 1 or 2 milreis the alquiere (about thirty-six quarts), but in 
years of scarcity often rise to above 8 milreis. The foreign export 
was for some time checked by a tax of 2 milreis imposed on each 
sack exported, but this tax was abolished in 1865. The milreis is 
about 2s. 3d. 

There are two modes of preparing the root — the wet and the dry 
processes. In the first, the grated root is put into water for four or six 
days, and afterwards kneaded with water, and pressed to extract the 
juice. The fecula which remains is sifted and baked in earth ovens, 
some fresh manioc paste, which has fermented, being always added. 
There are no less than fourteen varieties of the manioc distinguished 
in the province of Amazonas, some of which mature in six and others 
in twelve months. 

The dry process is carried on as follows : The manioc is rasped by 
hand, water added within, and then put to be pressed ; afterwards 
dried, sifted, and subsequently baked. In making the starch the 
deposit in the water is left for some time to allow the starch to settle 
down; it is washed three times, dried in the sun, and is then fit 
for sale. 

The carima, or fine, creamy starch, is prepared by softening the 
puba manioc in water, after which it is strained and pressed in a sieve, 
and made into little balls, in which shape it comes to market, although 
sometimes reduced to farina. It is used in gruels and other food 
preparations, according to the custom of each locality. 

The exports of tapioca from Brazil were 200,725 bushels in 1868, 
and as high as 332,823 bushels in 1866. In 1871 the exports were 
about 7,000,000 litres, valued at 26,050/. The values of our imports 
of farinaceous substances from Brazil (nearly all tapioca) have been 
as follows in thirteen years : — 



1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 



£ 




£ 


4,193 


1870 , 


. .. 12,960 


5,413 






6,404 


1872 




8,024 


1873 , 


. ,. 8,925 


13,812 


1874 




15,188 


1875 , , . 


, .. 4,026 


8,974 





1869 .. .. 

Twenty years since about 11,000 cwts. of tapioca used to be imported 
annually from Brazil, now we receive less than half that quantity. 

The following shows the average annual exports of manioc farina 
from Brazil : — 

Kilos. 

1839 to 1844 1,821,276 

1864 to 1874 8,453,453 

At Santiago, one of the Cape Verds, the crude farina of manioc 
costs about Is. 6d. the decalitre, and prepared fetches as much as 10c?. 



352 



JAPANESE STARCHES. 



tte lb. One estate, the Praia Eei, on the island of St. Thomas, West 
Coast of Africa, produces about 150,000 litres of farina of manioc. 
In Angola, about 150,000 lbs. is manufactured annually. At Mozam- 
bique the Portuguese also prepare a good deal, which is sold for 
export at 2i to francs the decalitre (17^ pints) ; dried slices of the 
root are sold in great quantity in the markets at 5cZ. to 5ic?. the 
decalitre. 

The Straits Settlements. — In Singapore the tapioca manufacture has 
been very successful, but the crop is said to entirely exhaust the soil 
in five years. 

From Pinang as much as 10,000 cwts. of tapioca and arrowroot is 
shipped annually to Great Britain and the United States. 

The imports of tapioca from the Straits Settlements into the United 
Kingdom have been as follows : — 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Year. 



Quantity. 



cwts. 
92,021 
90,600 
20,301 
27,792 
27,530 
18.191 



112.118 
27,727 
30,107 
36,268 
27,509 



1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 



cwts. 
14,346 
15,660 
38,409 
48,418 
75,524 



Since 1871 the value only has been given :- 



1871 85,889 

1872 82,563 

1873 69,820 



£ 

1874 51,022 

1875 104.274 



Sago has been described at p. 267, under the section of "The 
Useful Palms." 

Japanese Staeches. — Son^ of the starches peculiar to Japan are 
worth special notice ; these are the " kudzu," or starch made from 
the root of Pueraria Thunhergiana ; the " kata-kuri," made of the root 
of a kind of dog's-tooth violet ; and, finally, the starch prepared from 
the root of the fern Pteris aquilina. All these three plants grow wild, 
and the kudzu, which yields the best starch, is very abundant in 
certain places. It belongs to the Papilonaceous family, grows very 
rapidly, and in a short time its creepers cover the ground, spreading 
over the neighbouring bushes and trees their luxuriant foliage. The 
root is frequently over 5 feet in length, and as thick as a man's arm. 
For the manufacture of starch by the ordinary process of crushing the 
root, washing the starch out and decanting it, moderate-sized roots, 
1 foot in length and 1 inch in diameter, are mostly used. The starch 
is of a fine colour, and has a most agreeable flavour; mixed with 
warm water it produces a fine transparent paste. 

The method of preparing the two other kinds of starch from the roots 
of the dog's-tooth violet and the fern — the former of which merits special 
mention for its qualities — does not present any peculiarity. Both form 



CHAYOTE. 



353 



articles of food, but the fern starch is also used in various industries, 
as it produces a very strong paste, called " shibu," on being carefully 
mixed with the sap of unripe persimmons. The fibres of the fern 
root, after the starch has been washed out, are made into ropes, which 
are used in the mud walls of the buildings, so as to afford a better 
hold for the loam. It may be added that the manufacture of starch 
sugar has long been known in Japan. Millet and rice are used for 
this purpose, and after having been steamed, they are mixed with 
a certain quantity of malt or ferment and kept for several hours at a 
fixed temperature in close vessels, after which the liquid portion is 
strained and concentrated by evaporation to a strong syrup or a solid 
mass, which is formed into bars while still hot. Vendors of this starch 
sugar are often to be met with in the streets, where, to the great 
enjoyment of children, they manufacture all sorts of animals and 
figures with this material, by a process quite similar to that of glass 
blowing. 

Chayotb [Sechium edule, Sw. ; Chayotis edulis, Jacq.). — This climb- 
ing plant of the Cucurbit family, yields excellent fruit, and the heavy 
tubercular roots contain a large quantity of starch. Of this starch 
good samples were shown in the Mexican section of the International 
Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. The fruit is green, large, and 
covered with thorns. In the mountains and inland parts of Jamaica 
the plant is much cultivated to fatten hogs with the fruit. The fruit 
is sometimes boiled and served up at table, but the flavour is rather 
insipid. When sown in a sandy soil it grows luxuriantly in the first 
year, yielding abundant fruit. The second year it produces tubercles, 
which can be taken off without killing the plant. This operation may 
be repeated for six or eight years. A plant under favourable circum- 
stances will produce from 80 to 100 pints and a great number of 
tubercles. The culture is very simple, and the chayote is not subject 
to the diseases which affect other tuberous plants. The ancient Aztecs 
cultivated this vegetable largely, giving it the name of Chayotli, which 
means squash covered with thorns. The roots have a large pro- 
portion of starch, as is shown by the following analysis of Professor 
Herrera : 

Water 71-00 

Starch .. 20-00 

Kesin, soluble in water 0-20 

Sugar 0-32 

Albumen 0-43 

Cellulose 5-60 

Extractive matter "j 

Tartrate of potash I 2 • 25 

Chloride of sodium | 

Sulphate of lime and silica] 

Loss 0-20 

Total 100- 



2 A 



( 354 ) 



SECTION IV. 



THE PEINCIPAL VEGETABLE DYE-STUFFS 
OF COMMERCE. 

Indigo. — One of tlie most important vegetable blue dye-stufifs made 
is indigo. The various kinds which enter into Eui'opean commerce 
are, from India : Bengal, Tirhout, Oude, Kirpah, Bimlipatam, Madras, 
and Kurrachee. From the Eastern Archipelago, Manila, and Java. 

From South America: Guatemalan, Mexican, New Granada, and 
Caracas. 

The total imports of indigo into the United Kingdom have been as 
follows for a series of years : 





Cwts. 




Cwts. 




Cwts. 


1840 .. 


.. 65,209 


1853 .. 


.. 66,409 


1865 .. 


.. 66,506 


1841 .. 


.. 70,487 


1854 .. 


.. 70,173 


1866 .. 


.. 74,256 


1842 .. 


.. 83,823 


1855 


.. 59,760 


1867 .. 


.. 71,995 


1843 .. 


.. 58,285 


1856 .. 


.. 81,314 


1868 .. 


.. 75,874 


1844 .. 


97,960 


1857 


.. 68,243 


1869 .. 


.. 86,721 


1845 .. 


.. 90,424 


1858 .. 


.. 66,198 


1870 .. 


.. 79,255 


1846 .. 


.. 71,013 


1859 .. 


.. 63,237 


1871 .. 


.. 106,307 


1847 .. 


.. 74,410 


1860 .. 


.. 77,321 


1872 .. 


.. 87,320 


1848 \. 


.. 59,127 


1861 .. 


.. 83,109 


1873 


.. 87,233 


1849 .. 


.. 81,332 


1862 


.. 69,589 


1874 .. 


.. 85,707 


1850 .. 


.. 70,482 


1863 .. 


.. 85,395 


1875 .. 


.. 59,608 


1851 .. 


.. 89,944 


1864 .. 


.. 76,214 


1876 .. 


.. 88,680 


1852 .. 


.. 83,565 









The great bulk of these imports are re- shipped to the Continent. 
The average quantity retained for use in Great Britain being from 
15,000 to 20,000 cwts. 

The imports and exports of indigo for the United Kingdom are 
shown in the annexed returns for quinquennial periods : 



Year. 



Imports. 



Exports. 



1840 
1845 
1850 
1855 
1860 
1865 
1870 
1875 



cwts. 
65,029 
90,424 
70,428 
59,760 
77,321 
66,506 
79,255 



cwts. 
40,959 
50,380 
54,108 
64,167 
59,366 
66,547 
46,279 
56,800 



INDIGO. 



365 



The following shows the variations in our sources of supply of this 
(ije-stu{f in twenty years : 

1855. 







Quantity. 


Value. 






Holland 

French possessions in India 


cwts. 
338 
806 
2,102 
55,415 
318 
781 


£ 

9,261 
22,084 
52,025 
1,518,371 
7,871 
19,443 








59,760 


1,629,055 




1875. 




France and French possessions 


374 
838 
435 
643 
9,115 
670 
186 
12,135 
34,470 
742 


12,619 
19,200 
12,350 
13,978 

182,955 
18,816 
6,249 

279,116 
1,057,036 
16,534 








59,608 


1,618,853 





The plants which yield this dye-stuff chiefly belong to the genera 
Indigofera and Isatis, but indigos are also obtained from : 

Nerium tinctorium, Kottl In the Carnatic. 

Ruellia sp. .. ... Assam and Pegu. 

Tephrosia tinctoria and T. apoUinea .. .v .. Egypt and India. 

Polygala tinctoria Arabia. 

Polygonum Ghinense, P. tinctorium, P, barbatum, 

and P. perfoUatum, Lin China and Japan. 

Polygonum aviculare .. . . Asia and Africa. 

Wrightia tinctoria, K. Brown Pala indigo of India. 

Amorpha fruticosa Carolina indigo. 

Baptisia tinctoria Wild indigo of the United 

States, 

The 'pastel or woad of Europe is the colouring matter of Isatis 
tinctoria. 

The species described by Linnaeus were : Indigofera Anil, I. tinctoria, 
I. argentea, and I. caroliniana, plants which grow in a wild state in 
India, South America, and Africa. Modern botanists have largely ex- 
tended the list of species. DecandoUe raised the number to over one 
hundred and forty, besides a host of varieties. M. Perottet has well 
described in his ' Flora of Senegambia ' twenty-five species ; and in 
his ' Art de I'lndigotier,' Paris, 1842, has published much interesting 
matter on the whole subject of the culture and manufacture of this 

2 A 2 



356 



INDIGO. 



dye-stuff. In tliis he enumerates and dilates on the different works 
and treatises, to the number of about twenty, which had been published 
up to that date. 

The greater proportion of the indigos of India are prepared from 
Indigofera tinctoria, which is extensively cultivated for that purpose, 
in Bengal and other provinces from the 20° to the 30° N. lat., and in 
Tinnivelly, Madras. There are two processes for manufacturing the 
dye-stuff : one the dry leaf, and the other the green leaf process. The 
latter is considered the best, and is in most common use. It is as 
follows. When the plant begins to flower, it is cut down at about six 
inches from the ground, and carried to the steeping vats with as little 
delay as possible, strewn horizontally in the vats and pressed down 
by means of beams fixed into side posts, bamboos being placed under 
the beams. Water is immediately run in, just sufficient to cover the 
plant. If water is not at once let in, the plant w^ill heat, and become 
spoilt. The time for steeping depends much on the temperature of 
the atmosphere, and can only be learnt by experience and careful 
watching of the vats, but in close sultry weather, with the thermo- 
meter at 96° in the shade, eleven or twelve hours are sufficient. In 
cooler weather, fifteen or sixteen hours are requisite. If the plant 
is very ripe, the vat will be ready earlier than if the plants were 
young and unripe. The following are indications that the vat is ready 
to let off : 

1. As soon as the water begins to fall in the vat. 

2. When the bubbles that rise to the surface burst at once. 

3. On splashing up the surface water it has an orange tinge 
mingling with the green. 

4. The smell of the water. When ripe, it should have a sweetish, 
pungent odour, quite different from the raw smell of the unripe green- 
coloured water. 

About seven men enter the vat and agitate it, either by the hands 
or with a wooden paddle, at first gently, but gradually increasing as 
the fecula begins to separate, which is known by the subsidence of 
the froth, and the change of the colour of the water from green to 
dark blue. The time necessary for this beating process is generally 
from IJ to 3 hours. 

The following tests may be employed to ascertain if the heating 
has been sufficient. 

1. Take a little of the water in a saucer and let it stand. If the 
fecula subsides readily, and the water remains of a Madeira wine 
colour, the beating may be stopped. 

2. Dip a coarse cloth in the vat, and wring out the water, observing 
the colour. If green, the beating must be continued, but if a brownish 
colour, it is ready. 

3. When sufficiently beaten, the surface of the water will, as soon 
as the beating is suspended, become of a peculiar glassy appearance, 
and the froth will subside with a sparkle and effervescence like 
champagne. 

Three or four chatties of cold water or weak lime water are then 
sprinkled over the surface, to hasten the precipitation of the fecula, 
which does not completely take place in less than three or four hours. 
The water is drawn off from the surface through plug holes in the 



INDIGO. 



357 



wall of the vat. The fecula at the bottom is then removed to the 
boiler. It is brought to the boiling point as quickly as possible, and 
kept there for five or six hours. While boiling, it is stirred to keep 
the indigo from burning, and skimmed with a perforated ladle. When 
sufficiently boiled, it is run off to the straining table, where it remains 
twelve or fifteen hours draining. It is then taken to the presses and 
gradually pressed. This process takes twelve hours. It is then 
ready to be taken out, cut, stamped, and laid in the drying house to 
dry. 

A good sized steeping vat is 16 feet by 14 feet, by 4^ feet in depth. 
The beating vat is somewhat shallower. Two hundred maunds of the 
plant (16,400 lbs.) do very well to yield one maund of indigo (82 lbs.). 
A vat of the above size holds about 100 maunds of plants. The plant 
sown in June is cut three months afterwards and manufactured. A 
second crop will be taken from it in the following August. This 
cutting produces the largest quantity and best quality. 

In the manufacture of indigo the ordinary processes of fermentation, 
of drawing off the liquor, of beating and of collecting the fecula, or 
preci|)itate of indigo from the liquor, and pressing, are generally well 
known and are followed with but trifling variations in different pro- 
vinces and manufactories in India. 

The main points appear to be the watching the soaking plants, so 
as to be able to tap off the infused liquor exactly at the right point of 
fermentation, and next, to beat the liquor in the second vat long 
enough. Knowledge of these things can only be acquired by careful 
observation and long experience. 

The indigo of commerce is the result of the action, by atmospheric 
oxygen, on the liquor drawn from a vat in which the plants have been 
decomposed in water, the oxidation producing an insoluble granulation 
of particles, commonly known as Indigo fecula, which is found de- 
posited at the bottom of the vat. The indigo blue is derived from a 
substance similar to the Indican of woad, that exists in the plant as 
a glucoside compound, and which is dissolved during the steeping 
process. 

Mr. Paul Michea, by Indian patents dated December 20, 1875, and 
November 12, 1876, adopts some improvements in the processes, and 
thus utilises the whole of the natural alkalies of the plant. He intro- 
duces solutions of sugar or glucose in the steeping vat along with the 
water, at a higher degree of temperature (95° to 100° Fahr.) and a 
longer fermentation, and thus increases the production of indigo blue. 

Similar results are also obtained by replacing the effects of a 
higher temperature, or a prolonged fermentation, by an artificial 
supply of alkalies, principally ammonia. It is necessary to remark, 
that the glucoside juice in the plant varies considerably under the 
difference of latitude and the various countries where indigo is grown, 
and also according to seasons. 

It is only when the quantity of indican is deficient, as in plants 
grown in a poor soil and under a dry climate, that the ordinary manu- 
facturing process can utilise the whole or nearly the whole of the 
indican for its transformation into indigo blue ; but, on the contrary, 
plants grown in a rich alluvial soil and under a damp hot climate 
will contain an abundance of that glucoside juice which the present 



358 



INDIGO. 



process of manufacture cannot possibly utilise, so that the richer the 
plant and the more indican it contains, the greater is the waste in 
the ordinary process. 

The indigo plant is chiefly cultivated in Bengal, in the Delta of 
the Ganges, on those districts lying between the Hooghly and the 
main stream of the former river. The ground is ploughed in October 
and November, after the cessation of the rains ; the seeds are sown in 
March and beginning of April. In July the plants are cut when in 
blossom, that being the time when there is the greatest abundance of 
dye-matter. 

A fresh moist soil is the best, and about 12 lb. of seed are used 
for an acre of land. The plants are destroyed by the periodical in- 
undations, and so last only for a single year. "When the plant is cut 
it is first steeped in a vat till it has become macerated and parted 
with its colouring matter ; then the liquor is let off into another vat 
in which it undergoes a peculiar process of beating to cause the fecula 
to separate from the water ; the fecula is then let off into a third vat, 
where it remains some time, and is then strained through cloth bags 
and evaporated in shallow wooden boxes placed in the shade. Before 
it is perfectly dry, it is cut into small pieces an inch square : it is 
then packed up for sale. Indigo, however, is one of the most pre- 
carious of Indian crops, being liable to be destroyed by insects, as 
well as inundation of the rivers. It is generally divided into two 
classes, viz. the Bengal and Oude indigo. Madras indigo is not 
much inferior to that grown in Bengal. The green leaf manufacture 
is followed in all the indigo growing districts of the Madras Pre- 
sidency, save the province of South Arcot. In the latter the dry leaf 
process is still persevered in, but probably it is so only because of 
the distance to which the leaf has generally to be cai-ried before it 
reaches the factory, and the consequent partial drying that takes 
place on the journey. The best indigo comes from the districts of 
Kishnagur, Jessore, Moorshedabad, and Tirhoot. 

The fecula is much improved after being collected by being boiled 
in coppers and then pressed into boxes. Indigo is sometimes manu- 
factui'ed by simply collecting the fecula, and dropping it down in 
cakes to harden in the sun ; this is termed " gaud indigo." 

Good indigo is known by its fine purple-blue colour, and by its 
fracture ; but when exposed to the continued action of air or water, or 
any other agents, it undergoes certain changes, which differ very 
materially in different grades or qualities of the article, and, unless a 
person is a good judge, he will be unable to tell the grade and quality. 
This can only be determined by closely examining the indigo in some 
test process. Good indigo is always very light — the lighter the 
better — that is, the freer it is from all foreign earthy matters ; and if 
rubbed against a white cloth it does not easily coloui' it. Another 
sure test is its handsome copper gloss. This may have been caused 
by the rubbing of the angles of the pieces while in transportation, or 
it may be made by rubbing them with any hard substance. This 
copper gloss is the consequence of the mechanical thickening of the 
colouring matter with which indigo abounds ; in this it resembles all 
pure coloiu'ing matters. 

One thing to be especially remarked is the fine dark colour of the 



INDIGO. 



359 



indigo powder, which can easily be obtained by rubbing and grinding 
the indigo lumps. By closely observing the above directions a 
person will be less at fault in his selection of an indigo, as some 
show a greenish colour, break with a brownish edge, and have white 
veins through, or show white veins in the heart of the lump. 

The quantity of indigo exported year after year is largely de- 
pendent on the crops, the culture of which is always very uncertain ; 
but the value fluctuates according to the needs of the European 
markets and the abundance or otherwise of supplies from South 
America, as well as the quality of the dye produced in India. The 
chest of indigo from Bengal weighs about 260 lbs. 

The following shows the total exports of indigo from British India 
to foreign countries for the last thirteen years : 



Year, 



1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 



Quantity. 



Value. 



cwts. 
101,115 
81,898 
87,010 
85,752 
84,504 
86,162 
99,206 
98,085 
103,184 
115,414 
115,312 
115,980 
81,466 



1,860,141 



1,823,926 
2,893,823 
3,178,045 
3,192,503 
3,687,762 
3,426,824 
3,555,299 
2,576,302 



The falling off in the exports of 1874-5 followed on one of the 
shortest crops ever known in Bengal, which province is the chief 
seat of the indigo industry. Exports from Madras were also much 
below those of the previous year. 

The value of the indigo exported from British India ranges from 
1,750,000/. to a little over 3,500,000/. a year. It is however a very 
variable crop. 

The following shows the fluctuations in the money value of the 
indigo exported, leaving aside the quantity retained for local use ; 



1851 1,980,896 

1871 3,192,503 

The Commissioner of Sind is directing attention to the cultivation 
of indigo in Upper Sind and in different parts of the Kurrachee 
Collectorate. The soil there is the same as that on which indigo is so 
successfully raised in Bengal. The government are willing to encou- 
rage the ryots, with whom the cultivation is rising in favour, to extend 
it, by offering rewards to the most successful among them, and giving 
long leases of land to parties who will venture on the speculation on 
a large scale. Nothing will be effectually done till Europeans and 
European capital are engaged on it, and a fee-simple of the land will 
soon draw these to Sind. 

In 1870 there were 267,000 acres under indigo in the Madras Pre- 



360 



INDIGO. 



sidency, and 101,000 acres under cliayroot and other dye stuffs, chiefly 
in Bellary and Tanjore. In July, 1876, there were in Madras only 
55,367 acres under indigo assessed, showing a decrease of 35,854 
acres compared with the same period of the previous year. 

The yield of indigo in the districts of Nuddea, Jessore, and Moor- 
shedabad during the official year 1875-76 was below the average. In 
1873-74 the crop amounted to 5124 maunds in Jessore, 5171 maunds 
in Nuddea, and 3,003 maunds in Moorshedabad, while in the last year 
it was 3000, 4000, and 3600 maunds in the respective districts. In 
the 24 Pergunnahs district a small cultivation has been revived in 
the Baraset sub-division, which was once a principal seat of the 
indigo industry. The present system is described as a perfectly 
voluntary one, in which the cultivators do not even take an advance 
for seed, but sow of their own accord. The co-operative system of 
cultivating indigo, which was introduced by some native landowners 
in the Nuddea district, is not gaining ground, and the past season has 
injured its popularity. 

Indigo cultivation has increased in Behar, while its area has 
diminished in Bengal. In Maldah, Moorshedabad and Kajsbahe the 
constant changes in the Eiver Ganges supply ample alluvial soil, well 
adapted for indigo crops. In Maldah alone there are twenty working 
factories, turning out 2,000 maunds. But one-half the exported pro- 
duce is from Behar, and almost entirely from the districts on the 
north side of the Ganges, Tirhoot, Chumparun, and Sarun. 

In 1872-73 the export of indigo from Calcutta amounted to 162,860 
maunds, worth 2,704,408Z. 

The system on which indigo is growTi is nearly uniform in all the 
districts to the north of the Ganges, but is quite different from that 
carried on in those to the south of the river. 

In the northern districts of Tirhoot, Chumparun, and Sarun, the 
dye is cultivated in villages let to the planter by the zemindars, and 
is either assamiioar or niz. Under the former system, when the lease 
is comj^leted, the ryots attend the' factory and execute agreements to 
cultivate a specified portion of their uplands in indigo. The common 
proportion agreed upon is two or three cotthas (of 720 square feet) 
per beegah of upland or bheel, though in some few factories the pro- 
portion demanded is larger, amounting to five or six cotthas, which it 
appears was the rate prevailing in Chumparun and Sarun, before the 
indigo difficulties in 1867. The agreement is generally for the same 
term as the lease. At the time of executing it, an advance is given, 
which remains unpaid without interest till the end of the term, and 
during each year the price agreed on to be paid for the cultivation 
is given in advance at the beginning of the year. 

The sum paid varies according to whether it includes the rent of 
the land or not, and also according to the size of the beegah. The 
average rate in Tirhoot, where the beegah is about 4225 square yards, 
is from Es. 8-8 to Es. 9, inclusive of rent, and in Sarun, where the 
beegah is the same as in Tirhoot, it is from Es. 7 to Es. 9. In 
Chumparun where the beegah averages 7225 square yards, the usual 
rate is now about Es. 15, but up to the last few years Es. 12 was 
generally paid. In all cases lands for indigo are assessed much below 
the average rent paid for other lands of similar quality. 



INDIGO. 



361 



In Chiimparun the rent is generally included in the price paid to 
tlie ryot, and the same practice is pursued in Sarun, where lands are 
taken from the ryots ; but in the latter district the majority of the 
planters cultivate their own lands, and consequently the arrangements 
made with cultivators affect but a comparatively small number. In 
Tirhoot the more usual practice is to wite off the rent of the land in 
the factory books, and to give the ryot Es.5 to Es.6-8 per beegah. 

The lands taken from the ryot are retained for three to five years 
by the factory, after which they are useless for growing indigo ; 
though, as the plant has a long tap root, and di'aws its nourishment 
from the sub-soil, they become improved for the growth of cereals 
and green crops, which subsist upon the surface soil, which has the 
advantage of a long fallow, and of being manured by the indigo 
leaves. In lieu of the lands given up, other land is taken from the 
ryots for the rest of the term of the agreement ; and in some instances 
a clause is inserted that these exchanged lands shall be selected by 
the factory from the best of those in the ryots' holding. 

Speaking generally, the crop may be said to be sown in February, 
and the cutting and manufacture to commence early in July. A second 
cutting of the khoontee crop generally takes place in September, and 
the land is clear in October, except in a very few instances, and these 
are mainly to the south of the Ganges, where poppy lands are taken 
for the growth of a crop of irrigated indigo. No other crop can be 
grown during the same year, as when the crop is taken off the ground 
in October, the preparations for fitting the ground for the next year's 
crop are begun. The soil best fitted for it is a rich loam with a good 
sub-soil, neither too sandy nor too stiff. Old river deposits not liable 
to inundation give the best yield ; but fine crops are also grown in 
inland villages, or uplands or bhit. 

The cost of cultivation to the ryot may be taken at Es.4-11 per 
beegah, so that with the highest rates paid him the profit is small, 
whereas the profit of a rubbee or winter crop on the same land is 
calculated to be Es.3, and considering that the best lands are taken 
for indigo, this is a low valuation. The following figui'es show the 
cost of cultivating one beegah of indigo (4225 yards) : 



R. a. p. 

Two ploughings before digging up the son .. .. 4 

Digging .. 10 

Two ploughings after digging 4 

Two additional ploughings 40 

Clearing the land 5 

Diagonal ploughing 02 

Second clearing 030 

Ploughing the crop 020 

First weeding 80 

Second „ 4 

First cutting 060 

Second „ 5 

Ploughing the khoontee 040 

Second growth — 

Incidental expenses, such as extra ploughing and 

raking after rain 080 



Total 411 



352 



INDIGO. 



The foregoing remarks apply chiefly to the culture by ryots, but we 
must not ignore the large area of land held by planters in their own 
hands, and cultivated by them at their own expense. In many fac- 
tories, especially in Sarun, the area thus cultivated is far larger than 
that occupied by the indigo grown by ryots, and as long as these lands 
are what they are supposed to be, viz., lands let to the factory by the 
zemindar, or in villages leased to the planter, lands known as " zeerat," 
that is, lands by immemorial custom set apart for the use of the land- 
owner or the lessee as his representative, there, can be nothing to 
object to in this mode of cultivation. Additions to this area may also 
be legitimately made, from lands abandoned by absconding ryots, and 
from those lapsing owing to the failure of heirs to former tenants. 
The out-turn from the Sarun district is estimated at 12,000 maunds 
on a cultivation of 45,000 acres. 

The industry is managed almost entirely by Europeans, as the few 
zemindars and bankers who have invested their money in the business 
almost all employ European managers, those who do not manufacturing 
on a very petty scale. In Sarun, however, native capitalists have 
lately taken to the business with some eagerness. Tvventy-one fac- 
tories with 19 attached outworks are owned by natives, and 17 of 
these factories have sprung uj) within the last five or six years. 

In the districts south of the Ganges, the system is different from 
that above described. The area is much less, and in Gya and Patna 
the business scarcely worth mentioning. An attempt by a native to 
start a factory in the Patna district promises to be anything but suc- 
cessful. The cultivation is for the most part niz, and is carried on in 
lands leased by the factory from the zemindars or ryots. The ex- 
penses of cultivation are paid directly by the planter, who employs 
his own labourers and bullocks. The seed is sown at the beginning 
of the rains, and the plant remains on the ground during two years, in 
each of which it is cut. In strong lands, a third year's crop is some- 
times taken, but generally speaking the land is given up at the end of 
the second year (when it is eagerly sought after for the growth of green 
crops), and engagements are made for other lands. Many factories 
have running agreements for two sets of lands, one of which is occu- 
pied by indigo, and the other remains in the hands of the ryots. 

The little indigo that is cultivated by ryots is grown on poppy 
lands and irrigated. The crop is sown in March or April, and reaped 
at the end of the rains, in time to allow a crop of opium being taken 
off the land. The crop is cut by the ryots, but is carted to the factory 
which supplies the seed, gratis at its expense, and the bundles there 
weighed, measured, and paid for at the rate of four bundles, measured 
with a five-cubit chain, to each rupee ; but the frequent disputes arising 
out of the measurement, have in some factories given rise to a practice 
of appraising the crop on the field. Arbitrators are appointed, selected 
by both parties, who calculate its value before it is cut, and this 
system is said to be preferred by the ryots. The sums paid to them 
vary, according to the quality of the crops, from Es. 5 to Es. 20 per 
beegah, the average being about Es. 11-8. As the sole expense to the 
ryot is that of cultivation, and he is able to take a second crop off the 
land, the arrangement may be considered as profitable, the more so as 



INDIGO. 



363 



he generally gets an* advance of from Es.5 to Es.6 per beegah. The 
expense of a beegah of irrigated indigo is Es.7-8. For a fair out-turn 
a ryot gets Ks.20 a beegah from the factory, and sometimes as much 
as Es.30. 

In these districts the industry is neither so important nor flourishing 
as in the north. Owing probably to the drier climate and less favour- 
able soil, the dye is inferior to that of Tirhoot, and brings a lower 
price. Frequent droughts cause the crop to be exceedingly pre- 
carious, and the smaller profits realized by the planters renders them 
less able to weather bad years than those in the north. 

Of late years a considerable quantity of indigo leaf has been sent 
from the Mofussil to Pondicherry, there to be made into dye. The 
reason for this is that the leaf is free of duty, while the manufactured 
dye pays a duty of Es.3 per maund. About 2000 lbs. of dry leaf, or 
1000 lbs. of green, are required to make a maund of indigo. 

In the French territory surrounding Pondicherry, there were in 
1860, 1100 hectares of land cultivated with indigo, which produced 
6,962,000 kilos, of dry leaves, from which 37,131 kilos, of indigo were 
made. There were then 92 indigo factories, and 121 dye houses, 
which turned out 415,723 pieces of stuff, measuring 16 yards loug by 
1 yard wide. 

The quantity of indigo shipped from Pondicherry for France in 
1874 was 255,954 kilos. The number of indigo manufactories in 
Pondicherry and Karikal, was 108, and of dye houses 61; 505 hec- 
tares were under culture, which produced 2,086,565 kilos, of dry leaf. 

M. Jules Lepine gave in 1862 the following as the expense^ of 
cultivating a small cani (53 ares 51 centiares with indigo in Coro- 
mandel ; the are is equal to a square of 1076 feet) : 



Francs. 

Labour 9*60 

Manure 7 '20 

Seed 2-40 

Weeding 4-80 

Cutting 9-60 

Drying and separating the leaves 3 '00 

Land tax 5-78 



Total 42-38 



The three cuttings made during the year produce 20 hectolitres of 
leaves, which, being sold for 47 frs. 20 c, leaves a profit of 24 frs, 20 c. 
for the cultivator. 

Sometimes sesame is sown in the same land, which is harvested 
before the indigo leaves are cut. 

Cochin China. — This invaluable plant, one of the most important in 
modern manufactures, and which even the aniline dyes are not likely 
to dethrone, must be regarded as one of the chief products of Cochin 
China and Cambodja, where it grows with extraordinary vigour. 

Of the numerous species two or three only have attracted the 
attention of cultivators. The plants which grow in Cochin China 
are equal to those of India j)roper, and the indigotine, or dyeing quality 
possessed by the local species {Indigofera tindoria), contains all the 



364 



INDIGO. 



necessary principles to enable the plant producing it to take a high 
rank. 

On attaining its full growth, it is about 6J feet in height, and even 
taller if it has not been cut back- It is cultivated in beds of sand, or 
on the light alluvial washings of the upper tertiary formation, that is 
to say, in light soils seldom subject to the effects of heavy floods. 

Although capable of living many years, it is advisable to renew the 
plants annually. Its growth takes j)lace between February and July. 
When it has arrived at maturity, the leaves are collected in bundles 
and carried to the factory, where the process of manufacturing the 
paste is carried out : this, in order to be of first-class quality, should 
be light in weight and of a very light sky-blue colour. 

The experiments made by M. de Fiennes at Gho-viap (near Saigon), 
and at Cambodja by M. Caraman, have been crowned with the greatest 
success. The latter has planned a factory, which, at a cost of about 
lOCOZ. sterling, will be capable of producing annually more than 
20,000 cakes of indigo. 

The original native method of production was so defective and 
primitive in its nature that it does not deserve mention. All has to 
be done afresh by a new and more intelligent process. 

M. Caraman is unable to estimate the profit to be obtained from 
the cultivation of the plant, but hazards the conjecture that under an 
accurate system of management and well-planned labour the factories 
of Cochin China can supply not only the whole of Europe but also 
America. 

Siam. — A small quantity of indigo is produced in Siam. In 1875, 
481 piculs, valued at 200/., were shipped. 

China. — Although there exist in China varieties of Indigofera 
tinctoria and I. anil, these are not much cultivated. Dr. Williams 
states I. coccinea is grown, and Loureiro, /. tinctoria. In the southern 
provinces there are plantations at Konang-si, Konang-ton, and Fokien. 
Isatis indigotica, Fortune, is grown in almost every province of China. 
Buellia indigotica is cultivated for its dye in the province of Tche- 
kiang. Preference is given in the north to Polygonum tinctorium, 
especially about Pekin ; but P. chinense, harhatum, ^erfoliatum, and 
aviculare, are also employed. 

In 1875, 600 tubs of indigo, equal to 80,000 piculs, were imported 
into Ningpo, chiefly from Tamsuy and its neighbourhood. 

Indigo received in Chinese ports by foreign coasting vessels : 

Piculs. Piculs. 

1868 32,380 1871 44,987 

1869 42,797 1872 32,941 

1870 26,566 

Ja^n. — Large indigo manufactories have recently been started, 
and are now in working order at Osaka, Matsubara, and Tunaki, in 
the province of Omi, Japan, and it is proposed to establish more in 
other provinces of the same country. 

The indigo here is obtained chiefly from the Polygonum tinctorium. 
The plants, which grow to a height of 2 to 8 feet, are cut into three 
parts, the upper part with the greatest number of leaves being the 
richest in colouring substance. For the best quality the leaves only 
are used ; these, after having been exposed to the air and sun 



INDIGO. 



365 



during a few hours only, when they darken considerably, are put into 
straw bags and kept for the purpose of afterwards undergoing a 
longer treatment. This consists in moistening the leaves with a 
certain amount of water, the exact quantity of which depends on the 
natiu"e of the leaves, and the greatest care must be taken to prevent 
its being either in excess or in deficiency. They are then spread out 
upon and covered with mats during a few days, after which the opera- 
tion is repeated during a period of eighty days, about twenty-five times 
for the best, and about nine times for the inferior leaves. Having 
undergone this kind of fermentation, they are then pounded in wooden 
mortars, and in quantities of about 30 lbs., for two consecutive days, 
so as to become reduced to a sort of paste, which is then formed into 
balls of a dark blue colour. These balls of crude indigo, with an 
addition of bran and potash lye, prepared from wood-ashes, form the 
material used by dyers in the steeping vat. 

Java. — Indigo is grown principally in the middle provinces, where 
there are some eighty plantations. In 1863 the exports were 
915,000 lbs. In 1870 the shipments were 587,882 Amsterdam 
pounds, and 510 piculs. Holland exports annually about 1,500,000 
kilos,, obtained from its possessions in the East. 

Mr. Joseph Sayers, of Java, has carried out some improvements in 
the manufacture of indigo, which are remarkable for the increase of 
indigotine obtained, and the uniform results shown. These are stated 
in the following comparative analyses of various kinds of commercial 
indigo, as published by Mr. Henri Berge, chemist to the city of 
Brussels, and professor of chemistry at the university of the same 
town. It shows the sources, marks, and prices of some, in cents. 



Kind of Indigo and Marks 



Indlgotine, 



Ind 



go of Java, SK, at 75 Cent. 

ABCD, at 125 „ 

KP, at 225 „ 

„ GWG, at 460 „ 

WJF, at 550 „ 

CFE, at 600 „ 

of Bengal, at 450 „ 

„ at 525 „ 

of Manilla at 60 „ 

at 125 „ 

of Sayers of Java, No. 1 . . 

No. 2 .. 

No. 3 .. 

No. 4 .. 

„ No. 5 .. 

No. 6 .. 

No. 7 .. 

No. 8 .. 

No. 9 .. 

No. 10 .. 

No. 11 .. 

No. 12 .. 

No. 13 .. 

No. 24 ,. 



57-19 


14-28 


27-28 


44-47 


55-13 


9-02 


68-68 


5-09 


69-82 


2-18 


75-78 


2-69 


72-17 


2-93 


75-36 


1-99 


14-47 


45-63 


24-55 


37-98 


69-37 


2-31 


72-35 


2-82 


74-03 


2-59 


69-32 


3-48 


66-98 


4-25 


65-38 


3-95 


69-63 


2-89 


71-20 


1-53 


71-40 


2-36 


74-53 


1-61 


71-11 


2-14 


67-89 


2-76 


67-85 


2-66 


76-70 


2-50 



366 



INDIGO. 



The characteristics of the indigos made by Sayer's process are the 
small quantity of ash they contain, for while the analyses of ten 
different kinds of indigos show an average of 16*62 per cent, of ash, 
those of Sayers only give 2-77, or a difference of 13*85 per cent. 
The proportion of indigotine is also much greater, the average being 
70 • 58, and never lower than 65 or 66 ; while that of good ordinary 
Bengal has only s i average of 61*4 of indigotine. We sometimes 
meet with 75 to 80 ^er cent, of indigotine in very fine samples of Java 
and Bengal indigo, ut these are exceptional cases. The fact is that 
in commerce we onl-^ meet with about 10 per cent, of very fine indigo, 
85 per cent, of medium quality, and 55 per cent, of ordinary. Indeed 
it may be said that not 10 per cent, of the indigos of commerce con- 
tain more than 65 to 66 per cent, of indigotine, which is the minimum 
proportion of the Sayers' indigos of Java. 

Phili^^pines. — The indigo plant is found in several provinces, but 
the best quality comes from the north of Luzon. 

The leaf is at times affected by the attacks of locusts and by 
storms, but growers in good years realise as much as 90 per cent, 
profit. The process of making the indigo is primitive enough, and is 
somewhat as follows : 

The plants are cut in April or May ; they are then placed in casks 
filled with water. After being left to steep for some time they are 
removed, and a certain quantity of lime mixed with the water. The 
water is then poured into c "ler casks, where it remains until the 
colouring matter is depositea As soon as this has taken place 
the water is drawn off, and the . idigo left to dry. It is then cut out 
in small pieces. 

Imperfect as this way of manufacturing the indigo is, it still fetches 
in the market from 35 to 75 dollars the cwt. The plant is rich in 
indigotine, but the defective preparation makes it rank second in 
quality as compared with Indian indigo. The exports in 1864 were 
98 tons; and in 1875, 3165 cwts. 

Africa. — On most parts of the eastern and western coasts of Africa 
species of indigo are indigenous. 

According to Dr. Barth and all the travellers who have visited the 
Soudan, the indigo plant grows wild in all the forests. In each town 
vats are met with, in which the plant is steeped and the dye prepared 
into cakes. Cakes brought from the Soudan and analysed were found 
to contain 53 to 54 per cent, of indigotine. The indigo is taken by 
the caravans by the way of Mourzouk to Egypt. 

In Tunis indigo is cultivated at Nabel and certain parts of the 
coast, but of a quality very inferior to that imported. 

At Sierra Leone, Liberia, Abeokuta, and parts of the Niger, Natal, and 
the Cape Colony, indigo plants are abundant, growing wild, and many 
are utilised by the natives. 

Southern States of America. — Endeavours are being made to revive 
indigo culture, which once formed an important source of profit in 
some of the States of North America. 

The best Venezuelan indigo has sold for one dollar per pound, but 
this is of better quality than that produced in the North. However, it is 
quite likely that, by the use of better appliances, and more scientifically 



INDIGO. 



367 



skilled labour than is believed to obtain anywhere in South America, 
this inferiority in intrinsic value might be avoided. This done, the 
crop would be a very profitable one, a moderate yield being about 
50 lbs. of marketable indigo to the acre of ground devoted to the 
cultivation of the plants. The crop seems adapted to a wide range of 
country, the Hispaniola indigo growing in a deep, rich soil ; the 
Bahamas variety in the poorest ground of So^ fch Carolina ; and 
the wild or indigenous kind being stated to bf hardy and thrifty 
under almost all conditions. In South Carolin* the seed has been 
sown after the first spring rains, and the plants c Jt successively in the 
early part of July and toward the end of August. The weeds must 
be kept down with the greatest care. Formerly one labourer was 
allowed to every two acres of ground, but it is believed that with 
improved machinery twice this area can be cultivated per man 
employed. The manufacture is described as follows : — 

" When the plant is beginning to blossom, it is fit for cutting. 
When cut, great care should be taken to bring it to the steeper 
without pressing or shaking it, as a great part of the beauty of the 
indigo depends upon the fine farina which adheres to the leaves of 
the plant. The apparatus for making the indigo is inconsiderable 
and not expensive, for, besides a pump, the whole consists only of vats 
and tubs of Cyprus wood. 

" The indigo, when cut, is first laid in a vat about 12 or 14 feet 
long, and 4 feet deep, to the height o' about 14 inches, to macerate 
and digest ; then this vessel, which is -ailed the steeper, is filled with 
water; the whole having laid from'-,bout twelve to sixteen hours, 
according to the weather, begins to ferment, swell, rise, and grow 
sensibly warm. At this time spars of wood are run across to mark 
the highest point of its ascent ; when it falls below this mark they 
judge the fermentation has attained its due pitch, and begins to abate ; 
this directs the manager to open a cock and let off the water into 
another vat, which is called the heater. The gross matter that 
remains in the first vat is carried off to manure the ground, for 
which purpose it is excellent, and new cuttings are put in, as long 
as the harvest of the weed continues. When the water, strongly 
impregnated with the particles of indigo, has run into the second vat 
or beater, they attend with a sort of bottomless buckets, with long 
handles, to work and agitate it when it froths, ferments, and rises 
above the rim of the vessel that contains it. To allay this violent 
fermentation, oil is thrown in as the froth rises, which instantly sinks 
it. When this beating has continued for twenty, thirty, or thirty-five 
minutes, according to the state of the weather (for in cold weather it 
requires the longest continued beating), a small muddy grain begins 
to be formed ; the salts and other particles of the plant, united, dis- 
solved, and before mixed with the water, are now reunited together 
and begin to granulate. To discover these particles the better, and to 
find when the liquor is sufficiently beaten, they take up some of it from 
time to time on a plate or in a glass. When it appears in a hopeful 
condition, they let loose some lime-water from an adjacent vessel, 
gently stirring the whole, which wonderfully facilitates the operation, 
the indigo granulates more fully, the liquor assumes a purplish colour, 



368 



INDIGO. 



and the whole is troubled and muddy ; it is now suffered to settle ; 
then the clearer part is permitted to run off into another succession of 
vessels, from whence the water is conveyed away as fast as it clears on 
the top, until nothing remains but a thick mud, which is put into bags 
of coarse linen. These are hung up and left for some time, until the 
moisture is entirely drained off. 

" To finish the drying, this mud is turned out of the bags, and 
worked upon boards of some porous timber with a wooden spade. It 
is frequently exposed to the morning and evening sun, but for a short 
time only, and then it is put into boxes or frames, which is called 
curing ; exposed again to the sun in the same cautious manner, until, 
with great labour and attention, the operation is finished, and the 
valuable dye-stuff fitted for market. 

" The greatest skill and care are required in every part of the 
process, or there may be great danger of ruining the whole ; the water 
must not be suffered to remain too short or too long a time, either in 
the steeper or heater ; the beating itself must be nicely managed, so as 
not to exceed or fall short; and in the curing the exact medium 
between too much or too little drying is not easily attained." 

Colombia. — The preparation of indigo is a business still in its 
infancy in Carthagena. Little more than experiments have been made 
as yet, but the result is encouraging, samples having been valued in 
Paris at 8 to 11 francs per lb. ; 503 lbs. were shipped in 1873. 

Humboldt states that the indigo plants grown in Mexico are J. anil, 
I. tinctoria, and I. disperma. This product is obtained in large 
quantities in the States of Yucatan, Oanaca, and Colima. 

Costa Bica. — There is no obstacle, except the invariable one of 
want of labour, in the way of indigo production here. What was 
exported from this republic some years back proved to be a fine 
parcel of " flores," and the undertaking was abandoned solely in con- 
sequence of a revolution, when the laboui'ers were withdrawn from 
the works at an hour's notice for military service, involving the 
proprietor in heavy loss. 

Guatemala. — The exports of indigo from Guatemala in 1872 were 
made to the following countries : 



Cwts. 

England 15,598 

France 3,830 

Germany 10,933 

United States 5,872 

Behze 3,900 



Total 40,133 



Nicaragua. — Indigo was the staple article for exportation in the 
time of the Spaniards, and even for many years afterwards ; but want 
of labour, capital, attention and proper protection, during twenty years 
of revolutionary tumult, has entirely suspended the raising of indigo. 
It has been found by experience that the indigo raised on the high 
lands of Nicaragua, although less in quantity, is far superior to the 
San Salvador indigo, which is now represented as being the best in 
Central America. 



MADDER. 



369 



All the fine old indigo haciendas are mostly used for grazing cattle ; 
no one will venture his capital in planting indigo under present cir- 
cumstances. The total amount of indigo exported from Nicaragua in 
1858 did not exceed 200 quintals. It is cultivated in the Val Menier, 
and three crops are obtained from one sowing. 

Central America. — The value of the indigo shipped from Salvador 
in 1868 was Kl, 602,000. The progress of the culture in Central 
America is indicated by the following figures, showing our direct 
imports from thence : 



1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 



Cwts. 
5,697 
3,458 
2,017 
206 
2,102 
4,750 
4,281 
3,731 
9,362 
5,641 



Cwts. 

1867 10,381 

1868 13,875 

1869 15,763 

1870 12,457 

1871 13,799 

1872 .. .. .. 12,901 

1873 7,800 

1874 10,220 

1875 9,115 



New Granada. — The imports of indigo into the United Kingdom 
from this State have been as follows : 



Cwts. 

1862 4,391 

1863 1,368 

1864 3,743 

1865 2,381 

1866 6,565 

1867 1,338 

1868 .. .. .. 4,221 



Cwts. 

1869 847 

1870 2,267 

1871 4,165 

1872 .. .. .. 3,961 

1873 3,172 

1874 1,301 

1875 670 



Venezuela. — In former times indigo was a flourishing industry 
here, but it has rapidly declined from several causes. Among others 
in consequence of submitting it to alterations which lower its value 
in the principal markets of Europe. Secondly, the tedious and un- 
wholesome labour which its manufacture requires, and for which it is 
difficult to find hands. Hence the culture of other products are 
preferred. It is shipped in boxes and serons, in the form of irregular 
pieces and powder ; but it is always mixed with foreign substances, 
and very inferior to the produce of Colombia and Guatemala. In 
order that the Venezuelan indigo might attain any importance in a 
commercial point of view, the manufacturer ought to be more careful. 
Whilst in 1867 only 300 serons were produced, it had increased to 
1200 in 1871. The shipments from the ports of La Guayra and 
Puerto Cabello in 1872 exceeded by 1406 cwt. the exports of the 
previous year. In 1873 the shipments from Venezuela were 1633 cwts., 
793 cwt. being sent from Puerto Cabello. 

Maddek. — This important vegetable dye, used in calico printing, is 
obtained from the root of the Mubia tinctoria, a plant indigenous to 
Turkey and Persia, and now extensively cultivated in France and the 
countries of Central and Southern Europe. The history of madder 
dyeing may be traced from its origin in Eastern India, three thousand 

2 B 



370 



MADDER. 



years ago, through Persia, to Adrianople, Greece, Italy, and Western 
Europe. The colours were first obtained from a species known as 
Munjeet (Hubia Munjista) ; then came into use the Turkey madder- 
root. This plant was grown in England in 1624, at which time three 
qualities were known — cropp, fatt, and mill madders. In the year 
1798 there were only eleven madder-mills in the whole of France, 
while now in the department of Vaucluse alone there are no fewer 
than fifty in operation. French madder-root has a peculiar smell, and 
a taste between bitter and sweet. Some kinds, as those of Alsace and 
Holland, when mixed with water and allowed to stand for some time, 
give a thick jelly ; this is not yielded to the same extent by Avignon 
madder. If this madder is treated with an acid it produces a per- 
ceptible effervescence, owing to the quantity of calcic carbonate which 
it contains. 

The increased use of aniline dyes will, it is expected, lead to the 
decline of the trade in madder roots. The producers, in view of a 
diminished demand, have already commenced to limit their cultiva- 
tion of the plant. The total growth of madder was calculated a few 
years ago to amount to 47,600 tons, of a value of over 2,000,000/. 
sterling. The value of that used in Great Britain in 1874 was under 
800,000Z., in 1875 only 411,000Z., and in 1876 but 238,874Z. Dr. F. 
Versmann, in a paper " On Anthracene and Alizarine," read before 
the chemical section of the Society of Ai'ts in March, 1874, gave 
some interesting details on madder. " In the East the madder plant 
has been known since the earliest times. In Holland it has been 
cultivated more than three hundred years ; in France it has risen 
to great importance since the middle of last century, especially in 
Avignon, which now produces about one half of all the madder 
consumed, to the value of about 750,000Z. per annum. Turkey 
and South Russia also supply considerable quantities of high 
quality. Some experiments in cultivating madder in Great Britain 
were made in Derbyshire, some years ago, but with indifferent 
results. The soil, the climate, and the weather have the most decided 
influence upon the growth of the plant, and the subsequent develop- 
ment of the colouring principle. The Dutch madder will dye 
red, but not purple, and the colour is not fast ; Naples madder dyes 
red and purple, but the colours are fugitive ; that of Turkey dyes 
good red and purple, and is very fast. France supplies the market 
with two qualities, called rosees, from their dyeing beautiful reds and 
pinks ; and paludes, which give a good purple, besides fine reds, con- 
sidered the best French quality. The last name is derived from the 
fact that the plants are grown on marshy land. The cultivation of the 
plant and the ultimate separation of the colouring principles is a 
matter of much time and uncertainty. The root must remain in the 
ground for a long time — in France, two or three years ; in Turkey, 
five or seven years — and after having been dried and coarsely pow- 
dered, it must bo kept another year or two to develop the colouring 
principles which are not ready formed in the root. For many cen- 
turies, and until the beginning of the present one, the root was used 
direct, and no attempt was made to separate the colouring matters or 
to apply them in a concentrated and pure form, but with the develop- 



MADDER. 



371 



ment of technical industry and scientific investigation, the concentra- 
tion or separation of the valuable constituents gradually commenced. 
The first step was the manufacture of ' fleur de garance,' madder 
deprived of all substances soluble in water, and then dried again, 
which reduced the bulk to about 60 per cent. The washings contain 
a considerable amount of sugar, which by some French manufacturers 
is converted into alcohol. A ton of madder gives about 15 gallons of 
alcohol, of rather unpleasant flavour, but well adapted for technical 
purposes. Garancine is madder further treated with sulphuric acid, 
which destroys part of the ligneous fibre, yielding about 25 per cent, 
in the form of a fine powder of light-brown colour. Alizarine verte 
and purpurine are the results of treating madder with sulphurous 
acid, which dissolves both ; after adding sulphuric acid to the solu- 
tion, and heating to 40° C, purpurine separates about ^ or f per cent., 
and on further heating to 100° C, alizarine separates about 3 per 
cent. Yellow alizarine is obtained by further purifying this alizarine 
verte. Extracts of madder are mostly obtained by treating the root 
with boiling water, collecting the precipitates which separate on 
cooling, mixing them with gum or starch, and adding acetate of 
alumina or iron. This is, in fact, a mixture of colouring matter and 
a mordant, which may be used for printing, direct. These are the 
principal madder preparations ; many of which are manufactured in 
this country." 

The madder root season in Naples commences with August of each 
year and terminates in July of the following. It is customary to 
carry the residue stock of one year forward and to add it to the next 
season's crop. The estimates are made on bales of 9 cwt. each. The 
following is a statement of the crop of Naples madder roots. The 
shipments go chiefly to Liverpool and Glasgow, to Avignon via 
Marseilles, and to Holland : 

Bales. Bales. 

1869 20,909 1872 38,093 

1870 20,375 1873 19,791 

1871 16,903 1874 22,646 

The shipments in the last named year were 19,650 bales, viz. to 
England, 5270 bales ; to France, 14,084 bales ; and to Holland, 296 
bales; local consumption and shipments in garancine, 2600 bales, 
leaving a residue with which to commence the new season of 2396 
bales. 

The produce of madder roots in France was, in 

Cwts. 

1857 420,000 

1862 .. 167,792 

1872 238,568 

The latter, at 93 francs 32 cents, per cwt., was equal in value to 
22,268,709 francs, or about 890,750Z. 

A hectare in well-manured ground, and under favourable circum- 
stances as regards atmosphere, will produce 12,000 lbs. of dry roots, 
while, under unfavourable circumstances, it will not yield more than 
one-half or one-fourth of that amount. As the yield varies greatly in 
successive years, it is difficult to give an average yield. 

2 B 2 



372 



MADDER. 



Madder is only cultivated in the south of France. The production 
was divided among the following departments in 1871 : 



Cwts. 

Vaucluse '. .. .. .. 177,009 

Bouches du Ehone 41,720 

Drome .. 19,992 

Gard 18,343 

Ardeche 6,524 



According to the official statistics of France, the madder crop in 
1871 covered an area of 11,659 hectares (29,14:7 acres). The average 
yield was 22-61 cwts. per hectare. The total production, 263,588 cwt., 
valued at over 665,000/. 

The foreign demand for French madder is diminishing consider- 
ably, but for reds and rose tints madder is still preferred to the 
artificial alizarine for violets ; however, the latter produces, much 
more economically, shades fully as rich as those obtained from the 
plant. 

The madder preparation, known as garancine, which is largely im- 
ported from the South of France, is formed by moistening the ground 
root with sulphuric acid, and afterwards subjecting the same to boil- 
ing heat by means of steam. By this process the colouring principle 
is altered and improved, and a large proportion of it rendered soluble 
in water. 

Madder is largely cultivated in Holland. The annual yield of 
roots in Zealand is 14,500,000 lbs. It is in the islands of Schowen 
and Duiveland, and in the zone of land comprised between the 
mouths of the West Escouit and the confines of Belgium, that they 
cultivate the best roots, and those most in esteem for their colouring 
matter. The average yield per hectare is, for the bi-annual plant, 
2000 to 3000 kilogrammes; for the triennial, 3500 to 6000 kilo- 
grammes. Seventy-eight machines worked by steam pulverize the 
madder, or dry and beat the roots in Zealand. In 1863 there was 
delivered 11,000 casks of 500 or 600 kilogrammes each, of pulverized 
madder, and 1,500,000 kilogrammes of roots. 

In Bussia madder grows wild in the south of the country of the 
Don Cossacks, and in the provinces of the Caucasus. The principal 
centre where it is cultivated is Kouban, in the Bakou Government, and 
in the neighbourhood of Derbend, the average production of late 
years has been from 200,000 to 300,000 pouds (of 36 lbs.) per annum. 
It constitutes a very important branch of commerce in the Caucasus, 
and the roots sell at 7 to 8 roubles the poud. It is exclusively 
employed in the native factories of the interior of Eussia. The 
rapid extension of the aniline colours has, however, had a damaging 
effect on the native production. Although madder is cultivated on 
a large scale in the interior of Russia, the importation from Central 
Asia is continually increasing, and taking the place of cochineal. 
After the madder of Astrakan, Derbend, and of the Trans Caucasus 
(known as Persian), the best is that of Kohkand; next comes that 
of Bokhara, and lastly, that of Khiva. 

In 1871, 3541 cwt. of madder roots, valued at 7082Z., were shipped 



MADDER. 



373 



from Cyprus, and madder to the value of 6260Z. from Syria, chiefly 
to Great Britain. 

United States. — Attempts have been made from time to time to intro- 
duce the culture of madder as a staple crop in New England and the 
Western States of America. At Columbus and Birmingham, Ohio, at 
Montague, Franklin county, Massachusetts, and on the Connecticut 
Eiver, good crops have been raised. In composition the madder was 
somewhat deficient in lime, but this being restored in the dyeing 
process, the colours were found fully equal to those obtained with the 
best French madder. These experimental trials were so far satisfac- 
tory that they proved the crop to be entirely exempt from injury by 
insects, and from the weather, after the first season's growth. The 
plant is perfectly hardy, stands frost well, and also heat and drought, 
excepting that during the first winter after planting, there is danger 
on some soils of the ground heaving by frost, and exposing the roots 
to the air, which would kill them. Although in Europe, the plant 
seedS; in the United States it produces little or no seed, and imported 
seed does not vegetate freely. In France and Holland it is cultivated 
by the roots or sprouts. The soil best adapted for it is deep rich 
loam, containing a good proportion of salts of lime, this element 
entering largely into the composition of madder, and affecting its 
quality. The sprouts are placed in small furrows, running 3 inches 
deep, and 8 feet to 10 feet apart, across the whole field, the plants 
having about one foot space between each root. Little care is re- 
quired for the crop after this, besides hoeing and keeping the field 
free from grass and weeds; as soon as the plants are 12 inches or 15 
inches high, the tops are to be bent down to the surface of the 
ground, and all except the ends covered with earth. The operation 
is generally repeated three or four times during the first season, and 
until the vacant place between the furrows is nearly filled up. The 
plants by the end of the third or fourth year are ready for gathering, 
which is usually done in the month of September. The roots are 
then thoroughly washed in a machine, dried, and stacked away. 
Before grinding and preparing for market the roots require to be 
further dried in a kiln or oven, constructed in the simplest manner. 
They are extremely brittle, and can be ground in a grist or bark mill. 
The ground madder is then packed in casks or barrels, and is ready 
for market. 

Within a comparatively recent period it has also been ascertained 
that the spent madder, if treated in a similar manner, can be made to 
yield a considerable quantity of additional colouring matter, equal for 
some purposes to that obtained from the fresh madder. 

The Industrial Society of Mulhouse, France, recently published a 
report on the effect of the introduction of artificial alizarine upon the 
consumption of madder. The employment of the former product is 
constantly augmenting, and it is manufactured on a large scale in 
Alsace, Germany, and Russia. It is believed, however, that the large 
demand will not greatly affect the normal consumption of madder ; or, 
in other words, the proportion of pure madder used in the arts, before 
the introduction into commerce of extracts of madder, will remain 
unchanged. It is with these extracts that artificial alizarine comes 



374 



SAFFLOWER. 



in competition, but only to a certain extent ; for while it produces 
violet shades of greater brilliancy and beauty, its reds are inferior. 
In order to completely replace madder, another principle of that 
material must be present in the artificial product, namely purpurine, 
which fui-nishes fine orange reds, but of which at the present time 
even the chemical constitution is not definitely known. Hence it is 
considered that the best tints can be obtained by artificial alizarine 
and madder extract combined, employing the latter of the shade of 
red most closely approximating orange. 

The imports of madder, madder root, and garancine, into the 
United Kingdom, are shown in the following figures : 





Year. 


IVradder and 
Madder Root. 


Year. 


Garancine. 






1840 
1850 
1800 
1870 
1875 
1876 


cwts. 
250,210 
261,860 
283,295 
173,318 
100,287 
59,137 


1850 
1860 
1870 
1875 
1876 


cwts. 
6,133 
38,344 
42,195 
25,865 
15,398 





MuNJEET. — The majority of the substances used in India for dyeing 
red partake of the character of madder. The place occupied by 
this dye stuff in Europe is supplied in India by the Morindas and 
Munjeet. The munjeet of Neilgherry is referred to Buhia tinctoria, 
and that of Affghanistan to Buhia cordifolia, Lin., or B. Miinjista, 
Eoxb. It is cultivated in Assam, Nepaul, Bombay, and other parts 
of the country, and has occasionally been exported to England, but 
has never been much used in Great Britain, as the colours produced 
from it are neither so fast nor so bright as those obtained with the 
European madder. Munjeet fetches 29s. to 31s. the cwt. 

Chay Eoot (Oldenlandia umhellata, Lin.; Hedyotis umhelJata, 
Lam.) ; another plant belonging to the order Eubiaceas, is also known 
as Indian madder. It is much cultivated in sandy situations on the 
Coromandel coast, and used to a great extent in the southern parts of 
Hindostan by the native dyers. The celebrated red turbans of Madura 
are dyed with it, and the Madras handkerchiefs or " pulicats " are 
also dyed with it. 

In 1856 the land under culture with this root in Eajahmundry, 
Masulipatam, and Guntoor, amounted to 2458 acres, besides the quan- 
tity of wild produce. 

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is a tall annual, rather hand- 
some herb. The florets produce yellow, rosy, ponceau, and other red 
shades of dye, according to various admixtures. The pigment prin- 
ciples are carthamin and carthamus yellow. Its coloimng matter, 
called carthameine, " safflower carmine," is a resinoid substance of a 
very beautiful, but unfortunately not very permanent red colour ; 
when exposed to action of air and light, it slowly combines with 



SAPFLOWER. 



375 



oxygen by elimination of water and carbonic acid, and is converted 
into a yellow substance. The " pink saucers " sold in shops for 
various purposes, contain carthameine, and mixed with talc it forms 
the rouge used by females for painting their faces. 

In France and Spain, the small flowers composing the heads of the 
thistle are picked off and dried in the shade, whilst in Egypt and 
India they are squeezed, washed with cold water to remove useless 
materials, slightly pressed into lumps, and dried in the shade ; the 
latter have about double the value of the former. The safflower so 
prepared only contains three to six parts per thousand of the colour- 
giving principle, which has received the name of carthamic acid. We 
also import a small quantity of " extract of safflower." The dried 
flowers, which are very much like saffron in appearance, have been em- 
ployed to adulterate that drug. The florets are used by the Chinese 
to give rose, scarlet, purple, and violet colours to their silks. They 
are thrown into an infusion of alkali, and left to macerate. The 
colours are afterwards drawn out by the addition of lemon-juice in 
various proportions, or of any other vegetable acid. The dye-stuff is 
imported into England from many parts of Europe, and from Egypt, 
for dyeing and painting. It is also used in cakes, but if too much 
is used has purgative qualities. The dried florets yield a beautiful 
colouring matter, which attaches itself without a mordant. It is 
chiefly employed for colouring cotton, and produces various shades. 
In Bangalore silk is dyed with it, but the dye is fugitive, and will not 
bear washing. An alkaline extract precipitated by an acid will give 
a fine rose colour to silks or cotton. The flower is gathered and 
rubbed down into powder, and sold in this state. When used for 
dyeing, it is put into a cloth and washed in cold water for a long 
time to remove a yellow colouring matter. It is then boiled, and 
yields the pink dyeing liquid. ^ 'The Chinese safflower is considered 
superior to the Indian. In Assam, Dacca, and Eajpootana, it is 
cultivated for exportation. That from Bombay is least esteemed. 
The mode of gathering the flowers and preparing the dye as practised 
in Europe, where the plant is much cultivated, is as follows. The 
moment the florets, which form the compound flowers, begin to open, 
they are gathered in succession without waiting for the whole to 
expand, since, when allowed to remain till fully blown, the colour is 
much faded. As the flowers are collected, they are dried in the 
shade. This work must be carefully performed, for if gathered in 
wet weather, or badly dried, the colour will be much deteriorated. 
These flowers contain two kinds of colouring matter, the one yellow, 
which is soluble in water, the other red, which being of a resinous 
nature, is insoluble in water, but soluble in alkaline carbonates. The 
first is never converted to any use, as it dyes only dull shades of 
colour. The other is a beautiful rose red, capable of dyeing every 
shade, from the palest rose to the cherry red. It is therefore requisite 
before the flowers can be made available to separate the useless from 
the valuable colour, and since the former only is soluble in water, this 
operation is a matter of little difficulty. The flowers are tied in a 
sack and laid in a trough, through which a slender stream of water is 
constautly flowing, while still further to promote the solution of the 



376 



SAFFLOWER. 



yellow colouring matter, a man in the trough treads the sack, and 
subjects every part to the action of the water. When this flows 
without receiving any yellow tinge in its passage, the washing is dis- 
continued, and the safflower, if not wanted for immediate use, is made 
into cakes ; these are known in commerce under the name of stripped 
safflower. It is principally used for dyeing silk, producing poppy- 
red, bright orange, cherry, rose or flesh colour, according to the 
alternates employed in combination. These are alum, potash, tartaric 
acid, or sulphuric acid. 

The cultivation of the safflower, known as Coosumban in Bengal, is 
receiving attention at the hands of the local government. The 
prosperity of Bengal, though it mainly depends upon the jute trade, 
is in some measure attributable to the demand for safflower. The 
principal Dacca dealers report the total outturn of safflower at from 
15,000 to 16,500 maunds ; of which about 11,000 or 12,000 maunds 
are produced in the Dacca district. The remainder is chiefly from 
Mymensingh, Tipperah, and Furreedpore. Taking the average price 
of the dye at Es.60 per maund, the value of the export from Dacca 
would be from nine to ten lacs of rupees, 90,000 to 100,000Z.. The 
cultivation is said to be largely extending. 

Safflower is grown, but to a limited extent, in Bengal, and does 
not grow promiscuously all over the district. It is cultivated mostly 
in the tract of country between the Ganges and the DhuUeseray. 
Six seers of seeds are required to sow one beegah of land, which 
under favourable conditions will yield about ten seers of flower. The 
time for sowing is October and November, and the plucking com- 
mences in March and April, when the petals of the flower assume a 
deep orange colour. After being kept saturated in water for one 
night the flowers are trodden upon by the ryots the next morning. 
This is repeated for a few days until the impurities are drained off, 
and the pulpy substance is then divided into cakes and dried in the 
sun. This process of dividing them into small portions is done by 
women, who are occupied by it till a late hour of the night. It is a 
most profitable source of industry, for, besides the sale of the flowers, 
the returns from which are very handsome considering the trouble 
and outlay expended on it, a certain kind of oil is pressed out of the 
seeds which answers remarkably well for culinary as well as other 
domestic purposes. The seeds are also consumed by the natives when 
cooked in milk and sugar. As potash forms the preponderating 
element in the leaves and stalks of the plant, its ashes are used as a 
substitute for soap by the common people. During the close of the 
last century the demand for safflower in the country itself was so 
great that not an ounce was exported, but in the year 1800, a reaction 
set in, and there was a large shipment. The greatest quantity then 
exported was in 1824-25, when about 8500 maunds passed the Calcutta 
Custom-house, valued at nearly three lacs of rupees. The export 
has somewhat fallen off of late years, owing both to the decrease in 
the produce of the plants and to the adulteration carried on by the 
natives in its manufacture. When in a pure state it ranked next to 
China safflower in European markets. The former yields two kinds 
of colour, the yellow and the red. According to a reliable authority 



SAFPLOWEK. 



377 



on the subject, the yellow is soluble in cold water, is removed by- 
repeated washings, and the residue yields the red colour by digestion 
in a cold solution of carbonate of potash, from which it is precipitated 
by weak citric acid. The red colour, or " carthamic acid " as it is 
called by some chemists, exceeds in beauty the colour of cochineal, 
but cloths dyed with it will not stand the action of soap nor exposure 
to the sun for a long time. 

Safflower, one of the great staples of Eastern Bengal, is a sure 
source of income to the ryot. Land subject to annual inundation is 
the best fitted for the plant, and if it has remained fallow for a time, 
the crop gives a good return for three years. The yield is good in 
the first year, and then somewhat less and less. The soil is then 
given up, and rotation practised, as the crop is exhaustive. After 
ploughing, the seed, about four or five seers in weight, is either sown 
broad-cast or put into the ground by means of pressure with the 
finger. The field is divided into compartments in order to enable 
the ryot to go on with weeding. Eain, when the tree is a foot high, 
does it good, but after the appearance of the flower rain injures it, and 
washes away the colour. One beegah yields about 1 maund 10 seers 
of flower, the price being about jRs.105 per maund of 82 tolahs — 
10 annas to the seer. 

The flower, after being gathered in, is trodden down in mats in 
order to expel the viscid juice which it contains, and then taken to 
the river and washed three days three times ; the more the flower is 
w^ashed, the better is the colour, river water being preferred to tank 
water. This substance is then made up into flat balls, about a dollar 
in shape. Males and females both work alike at the manufacture. 
There are picking cycles of three days in the same field. The stalks 
of the plant are used as fire wood. When the stalks are burnt they 
supply a potash for bleaching cloths. 

The plant flowers in three and a half months, and the flowers 
mature in about fifteen days. Thus the produce of seed sown in 
December is gathered at the end of March, while the flowers of 
plants sown a month later are not plucked till the end of April. The 
corollas only of the flower are gathered, as they mature after intervals 
of two or three days, and the pluckings take place generally four or 
five times. The first flowers are generally undeveloped, and being 
deficient in colour, yield dye of an inferior quality. The last pluck- 
ings are also inferior, as the plant is then old and dried up, and the 
coloui- often entirely void of that deep crimson which is so much 
valued. The operation of plucking is principally carried on by 
women, who are often employed in this manner for eight houi's a day 
and receive two annas (3d.) for each day's work. Some skill and 
much attention are required to ascertain when the flowers are ready 
for plucking, and a sufficient number of hands must be employed to 
gather all the matured petals in one day, otherwise the colouring 
matter will be injured by delay, and indeed may eventually vanish 
altogether. The corollas of the flower when gathered are placed on 
a mat in the shade and kneaded with the feet for about an hour on 
the evening of the day they are plucked, and then left for the night 
in baskets, no water being used on the first day. Next morning they 



378 



SAFFLOWEE. 



are placed on a mat so arranged as to allow the water to run freely 
away, while one man kneads the mass with his feet and another pours 
clean water on it. Filtered water is best for the purpose ; but, if 
this is not obtainable, the water must be allowed to stand in vessels 
for twenty-four hours before it is used. Muddy water often spoils 
the colour. After being worked up in this way for about two hours, 
the pulp is again placed in baskets and sprinkled with water, so as to 
keep it moist until the afternoon, when it is again kneaded in the 
manner above described for two hours, and quantities of clean water 
poured on it. To make good cakes this kneading process must be 
repeated morning and evening for three days, and the pulp, which 
is thus kneaded six times, kept thoroughly damp day and night 
in the interval, and never allowed to dry. The chief components, 
combined with the woody fibre of safflower, are — (1) a glutinous sub- 
stance, (2) a yellow colouring matter, and (3) a red colouring matter. 
The first two are readily soluble in water, but not so the third, 
which, however, is small in proportion to the two others. This 
repeated washing and kneading of the pulp gets rid of the valueless 
and easily soluble compounds, and the importance of this object 
readily explains how the great art of making good safflower lies 
chiefly in the manufacture. To prove whether the pulp is ready to 
be made into cakes, it must be placed in clean water, so that any dis- 
coloration can at once be detected, and when it will no longer yield 
colour to the water it is fit for use. The cakes of safflower are 
made round by squeezing the pulp well between the palms of the 
hands, they should be about 1 J inch in diameter, and about ^ inch to 
inch thick in the centre, and tapering to the edges. Large cakes 
are very brittle, and hence small cakes are preferred by the pur- 
chasers. The cakes are placed on mats in the sun to dry for three 
or four days, and are then ready for sale. While the cakes are being 
dried, rain or damp cloudy weather is very injurious to the colouring 
matter, and the drying process takes a longer time. As moisture 
discolours the cakes, they should be kept in jars or other dry covered 
receptacles. After the petals are plucked, as above described, the 
plants are allowed to stand for about three weeks to allow the seed to 
mature, and are then uprooted or cut down and spread out in the sun 
to dry. After being sufficiently dried, the plants are beaten with 
sticks ; and the seed, which is easily separated by this process, is 
winnowed and made into oil, which is used for lighting and cooking, 
as well as medicinally in rheumatic and paralytic complaints. 

The following have been the receipts of safflower from British 
India in the United Kingdom : 





Cwts. 




Cwts. 


1862 ,. . 


, 17,186 


1869 , . 


8,870 
12,126 


1863 , . 


7,130 


1870 


1864 


10,304 


1871 


13,951 


1865 


6,187 


1872 


7,830 


1866 


8,946 


1873 ,. 


. .. 9,495 


1867 , . . 


9,091 


1874 


.. 13,625 


1868 , . 


32,170 


1875 , , 


. 3,029 



The imports in 1876 were 1334 bales. 

Safflower is extensively cultivated in France and the more southern 
parts of Europe, both broadcast and in drills. There is a very im- 



SAFFRON. 



379 



portant diversity, however, in tlie mode of manufacturing tLe dye. 
lu France the flowers are picked by hand in dry weather, and then 
carefully dried in a kiln under pressure. In Europe the flower 
yields two sorts of colouring matter, one soluble in water, producing a 
yellow dye, of no great beauty, the other resinous, and best dissolved 
by the fixed alkalies. It is the last that is esteemed so highly, pro- 
ducing a carmine colour, exceeding in beauty and delicacy any that 
can be obtained even from cochineal. The colour does not stand, 
however, and is principally employed for imitating upon silk the 
colours produced by cochineal upon woollen textures. 

The beautiful rouge, known as rouge vegetal, is extracted from saf- 
flower dye by a peculiar chemical process. There is not a very large 
demand for safflower in England. The great centre of its use ap- 
pears to be Lyons, where it is employed for the colouring of silks 
and satins. The Bengal ryot subjects the flowers to repeated wash- 
ings, to get rid of what are described as — (1), a glutinous substance 
therefrom, and (2) the yellow colouring matter which they yield. 
By the French process the flowers are simply very carefully dried in 
a kiln under pressure, and it would be interesting to know which 
process yields the finest dye. 

Safflower appears to be grown to some extent in China, for 6766 piculs 
(7207 cwt.), valued at 91,834/., were shipped from Hankow in 1875. 

Poultry fatten on the seeds, which somewhat resemble those of the 
sunflower. An oil, of a light yellow colour, is also pressed from them, 
which is used for lamps and ordinary purposes. The seeds, which 
are called in India curdee seeds, contain about 28 per cent, of oil. 
They are imported into this country among other oil seeds. The 
marc, or oilcake, is given to cattle. 

Saffron (Crocus sativus). — This is a pretty bulbous plant of the 
natural order Iridaceee. It is alike useful in food, industry, and 
medicine. Although used to a small extent in pharmacy, and as a 
dye-stufi*, its chief employment is as a condiment. 

The number of species is very great, but they may be divided into 
those which blow in autumn and those which flower in spring. The 
bulbs grow wild in large quantities on the sides of mountains, and in 
the valleys of Sicily, Greece, Turkey, Persia, Spain, Portugal, and 
other countries. 

Mr. Hanbury well remarks that saffron, either as a medicine, con- 
diment, perfume, or dye, has been highly prized by mankind from a 
remote period, and has played an important part in the history of 
commerce. 

A peculiar preference for saffron as a condiment exists in some 
countries, especially Austria, Germany, and certain districts of 
Switzerland. This predilection prevails even in England — at least 
in Cornwall, where the use of saffron for colouring cakes is still 
common. Saffron is largely used by the natives of India in religious 
rites, in medicine, and for the colouring and flavouring of food. As 
a dye-stuff saffron is no longer employed in this country, having been 
superseded by less costly substances.* 

Saffron contains a yellow matter, which, if extracted and dried, is 

* Pharmacographia. 



380 



SAFFRON. 



red, but when wet is yellow ; it has a bitter taste, is easily dissolved 
in warm water and still easier in alcohol, also in ether and the essen- 
tial oils. The colouring matter is about 42 per cent, of the saffron. 
It is used in the morocco trade for colouring skins. 

The colouring power of saffron is very remarkable ; a single grain 
rubbed to fine powder with a little sugar, will impart a distinct tint 
of yellow to 10 gallons of water. 

This plant grows wild in many countries, and is cultivated in 
several, such as Austria, Hungary, Eussia, Greece, Italy, Asia Minor, 
Egypt, France, and Spain. The two principal countries of production 
are the arrondissements of Pithiviers (Loiret), in France, and the 
province of Avignon, in Spain. 

The production in France was estimated in 1862 at 88,000 lbs., 
the greater part of which was sent to Germany, the price being about 
75 francs the kilogramme, or a total value of 1,000,000 francs, equals 
40,000Z. 

The production of saffron in France is chiefly confined to three 
departments, of which Loiret produces the largest amount and of 
the best quality. A saffron field is not in full bearing till the end of 
the second year, at the end of three years it is exhausted, and, ac- 
cording to a local proverb, the land is then so poisoned that it cannot 
be used for the same purpose for 15 or 16 years more. The average 
crop of the second and third year is various, from 10 to 30 kilo- 
grammes per hectare, or from 9 lbs. to 27 lbs. per acre of dry pistils. 
Each acre produces 600,000 to 700,000 bulbs, and each bulb two or 
three flowers. About 30,000 flowers are required to produce 2 lbs. 
of fresh pistils, which, when dried, are reduced to one-fifth of that 
weight; the pistils are the only productive part of the flower, the 
rest is waste. The labour of picking such enormous quantities of 
flowers by hand is great, and when the crop is large and labourers are 
scarce, the flowers are carried into the villages and small towns 
round about, to be picked by women and children at home. In such 
cases all the world is busy saffi^on-picking ; artisans, shopkeepers, 
gentlemen, and ladies, freely assist in the work, the poor w^orking for 
their own profit, the rich for the benefit of the necessitous. The 
farmer has to pay from about lOd. to 4s. a pound for the picking, 
according to the abundance of the crop. When the pistils are sepa- 
rated they have to be dried, and this operation is effected by placing 
about a pound of fresh pistils at a time in a horsehair sieve, suspended 
over a little charcoal furnace. As soon as it is dry the saffron is 
ready for sale. Commercial travellers generally buy up the saffron, 
which goes by the name of the most famous district, the old province 
of Gatinais, principally for Germany, where it is said to be mixed 
with Spanish saffron and resold as a German product. 

Saffron requires a peculiar soil, and the land which suits it is 
worth from SI. to 4Z. per acre, or double that of ordinary land in 
the same district. The saffron sells on an average for 30s. or 21. per 
pound, and when very fine for double those rates. 

The following is an analysis of a good saffron growing soil in the 
neighbourhood of the town of Pinseaux, in the celebrated district of 
Gatinais : 



SAFFBON. 



381 



Quartzose sand .. 
Silica and alumina . . 

Oxide of iron 

Carbonate of lime 

Water and organic matters 



0-268 
0-279 
0-020 
0-370 
0-063 



Total 



1-000 



A good description of the culture and preparation of saffron in 
France, by M. H. Dumesnil, is published in the sixteenth volume 
of the Bulletin of the Paris Society of Acclimatation, p. 205, for 
1869 ; and in the volume for 1874, p. 356, there is a descriptive note 
of the results arising from some foreign species of crocus introduced 
into France. 

In the Midi the culture of saffron is only carried on in the depart- 
ment of Vaucluse ; but the quality, although appreciated, is considered 
inferior to that of the ancient French province of Gatinais. There 
has long been a large commerce in saffron carried on at Marseilles. 
In 1862 the French imports were 48,974 kilos, from Spain, of which 
12,210 kilos, were re-exported. In 1874, 45,687 kilos, were imported 
at Marseilles, nearly all from Spain. The exports thence rose to 
31,535 kilos. The total exports from France were, in — 



The production of Spain is about double that of France, and, 
adding the growth of other countries, the value of the saffron pro- 
duced must exceed a quarter of a million sterling. 

In Sicily and in a number of the provinces of Southern Germany, 
saffron is planted with care in gardens, and when brought to perfec- 
tion fine results are obtained in the shape of good colouring material. 
Under culture it rapidly thrives, and it is from these sections that a 
large amount of the saffron used in the arts and manufactures is 
obtained. On the seed-bearer of the flower there is a threadlike hook 
or fork, which at its upper end terminates in three thick dark orange- 
coloured nerves or masses ; to save and collect these tissues the 
flowers are gathered in the fall, just as they are breaking or a little 
before ; they are plucked only in the morning, and these little masses 
are then pulled out with a considerable portion of the threadlike stem 
to which they adhere. It is the dried stigmas, the trifid orange- 
coloured tops of the central organ of the flower. The remainder of 
the flower is useless. The next operation is to dry them in a gradu- 
ated heat ; stoves are made on purpose for this ; the heat must be 
applied gradually. 

Saffron as it generally comes into the trade, consists of a large 
number of crooked and mixed up threads, of a rather whitish colour ; 
if of a very good quality it has a peculiarly sharp, rooty, and pungent 
smell, and a bitter balsam-like taste. There are a number of varieties, 
the Oriental from Asia, the Asiatic from Turkey and other sections of 
the East. Since its price has risen in the market there have been 



1872 
1873 
1871 



Kilos. 
59,844 
99,467 
83,440 



382 



TUEMEKIC. 



numerous methods of adulteration invented ; tliese occur, for the most 
part, in the saffron sold in France, Bavaria, and Austria. The Italian 
saffron is paler ; it, however, dyes a very good colour. The English 
saffron is always very dry, and is easily pulverized, and therefore is 
poorer. The poorer saffron comes from Spain, and is made heavy 
by the introduction of a fatty oil. This can be easily distinguished 
by rubbing a quantity between the fingers, when an oily feeling is 
noticeable, which is never present in tlie pure saffron that has not 
been tampered with. 

Mr. Henry Groves, in giving an account of saffron culture in the 
Abruzzi district of the Apennines, states that adulteration is carried 
out in various ways, the chief one being by mixing with it shredded 
beef, of which a suitable piece is boiled, and then shredded into small 
fibres, which are stained with saffron water and then dried. The 
filaments of the stamens are also dyed in the same manner and inter- 
mixed. To make the saffron water about 15 grammes of the stigmata 
are tied up in a cloth and soaked with a little water or wine, which 
after a time is pressed out, and the process repeated as long as any 
colouring matter remains. The exhausted saffron is used by the 
country people in their polento, to which it imparts some slight 
flavour. 

One of the richest centres of cultivation of crocus is Safranboly, in 
the vilayet of Kastamouny, in the province of Anatolia, near the ports 
of the Black Sea, and therefore not far from Constantinople. Its 
prosperity is entirely owing to the growth of saffron. The bulbs are 
transplanted in April ; they multiply very rapidly, and in three years' 
time yield an abundant crop in autumn, which fetches about 65 francs 
per lb. It is frequently met with in a sophisticated state, owing to its 
high price; indeed, according to Pereira, it takes nine flowers to make 
up a grain of marketable saffron, so that it does not require less than 
4320 flowers to yield one ounce. Some assert that to produce 1 lb. 
of dry saffron 107,520 flowers are necessary ; while others put the 
quantity as high as 203,920 flowers. According to Dumesnil (Acad, 
des Sciences) 7000 to 8000 flowers are required for yielding 17^ oz. 
of fresh saffron, and this weight is reduced to one fifth by drying. 
The adulteration is effected by the admixture of safflower, marigold, 
or slices of the petals of the pomegranate. 

Saffron of an excellent quality is produced in the Eegency of 
Tunis. The culture is carried on about the town of Tastus, but only 
on a small scale. Saffron is grown in China and Japan, and the 
mountains of Cashmere, but it is not the same species as that grown 
in Europe. 

TuRMEEic, — This dye-stuff is the produce of the rhizomes of 
Curcuma longa. These as entering into commerce differ materially in 
their exterior form, and have hence been attributed to different plants, 
but they are all the produce of C. longa. Messrs. Fluckiger and 
Hanbury, in their ' History of the Principal Drugs,' give a good defi- 
nition of the two sorts of rhizome which enter into commerce, the 
central or round, and the lateral or long. " The former are ovate, 
pyriform or sub-spherical, sometimes pointed at the upper end, and 
crowned with the remains of leaves, while the sides are beset with 



TURMERIC. 



383 



those of roots and marked with concentric ridges. The diameter is 
very variable, but it is seldom less than three-fourths of an inch, and is 
frequently much more. They are often cut and usually scalded in 
order to destroy their vitality and facilitate drying, as they are 
exposed to the san for three or four days. 

" The lateral rhizomes are sub-cylindrical, attenuated towards either 
end, generally curved, covered with a rugose skin, and marked more 
or less plainly with transverse rings. Sometimes one, two, or more 
short knobs or shoots grow out on one side. The rhizomes, whether 
round or long, are very hard and firm, exhibiting when broken a dull, 
waxy, resinous surface, of an orange or orange-brown hue, more or 
less brilliant. They have a peculiar aromatic odour and taste. 

" Several varieties of turmeric, distinguished by the names of the 
countries or districts in which they are produced, are found in the 
English market ; but although they present differences which are 
sufficiently appreciable to the eye of the experienced dealer, the 
characters of each sort are scarcely so marked or so constant as to be 
recognisable by mere verbal description." 

(3hina turmeric is the most esteemed, but it is seldom to be met 
with in the European market. A good deal is imported from Takow, 
in Formosa, to Chinese ports, as the following figures show : 

Picul?. Piculs. 

1868 8460 1870 7692 

18G9 7231 1871 7587 



3871 piculs were imported at Shanghai in 1871 ; 559 piculs at 
Amoy ; 1049 at Ningpo ; 2104 at Tientsin, and 209 at Newchwang. 

Madras turmeric is a fine sort, in large bold pieces, called " fingers." 
Sometimes packages of it contain exclusively round rhizomes, while 
others are made up entirely of the long or lateral. Bengal turmeric 
differs from the other varieties chiefly in its deeper tint, and hence is 
the sort preferred for dyeing purposes. It fetches about 22s. per cwt. 

Java turmeric presents no very distinctive features, it is dusted 
with its own powder, and does not show when broken a very brilliant 
colour. 

Cochin turmeric would seem to be the produce of another species of 
Curcuma. It consists exclusively of a bulb-shaped rhizome of large 
dimensions, cut transversely or longitudinally into slices or segments. 
The cortical part is dull brown ; the inner surface is horny, and of a 
deep orange-brown, or when in thin shavings of a brilliant yellow. 
The entire rhizomes are thick, short, conical, and of enormous size, 
some attaining as much as 2j inches in diameter. 

The Curcuma longa grows wild in the province of Mysore, and ia 
probably indigenous to various other parts ; it is cultivated very 
generally in most districts of India. It thrives well in a rich light 
soil, and is readily increased by offshoots from the roots. An acre 
yields about 2000 lbs. of the fresh roots. 

It is chiefly used in Europe as a dye-stuff, and the powder affords 
without a mordant a yellow dye, which is brilliant but not per- 
manent. It is largely used by native females in India to colour their 
faces. Mixed with the pulverised sappan wood it forms the red 
powder used by the Hindoos, under the name of faug, in the Hull 



384 



CUTCH. 



festival games. It is extensively used in cooking in the East, es- 
pecially as an ingredient in curry powder; indeed there are few 
articles of food that are not there flavoured with turmeric. 

It used to be used medicinally in this country, but maintains a 
high reputation among native practitioners in the East as a cordial 
and stomachic, as antiscorbutic, and stimulating the digestive organs. 
It is frequently given in the fresh state as an anthelmintic, and in 
diarrhoea. The imports are comparatively large. Twenty years ago 
we only imported 27 tons. From 1857 to 1859 it averaged 2200 tons, 
now the average is 2000 tons yearly, of which about half is reshipped 
to the Continent, for use in France, Eussia, and Germany. 

Mr. E. S. Hepburn, chemist, of Panama, writes me under date 
February 20, 1877, that the turmeric grown in the Isthmus is very 
fine, but the growers there are ignorant of its commercial value. 
The price now (March 1877) ranges from 12s. 6d. to 26s. per cwt. 

The imports were as follows in the years stated ; no later official 
details have been published : 



Tear. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




tons. 


£ 


1866 


1499 


34,799 


1867 


1814 


40,555 


1868 


2183 


46,523 


1869 


3214 


65,218 


1870 


2245 


44,639 



Our receipts are chiefly from Madi-as and Bengal. The imports 
into London in 1876 were 1827 tons. The shipments made from 
Bombay (some 30,000 cwt.) go chiefly to Sind and the Persian Gulf, 
and but little from thence reaches Em'ope. 

CuTCH. — Perhaps less is known in commercial circles of the history 
and origin of the inspissated extracts known as cutch and gambler, 
which are now imported to so large an amount for tanning and dyeing 
purposes, than of any other products. The misnomer of " Terra 
Japonica," which was so long applied to gambler in the official trade 
returns, has now been got rid of, and the two extracts appear under 
their proper names. Although they are frequently confounded by 
many, cutch and gambier are obtained from different sources and 
different plants. It may, therefore, be well to give some detailed 
description of them, and of the great progress they have made, until 
our imports of these two products now reach a value of nearly three 
quarters of a million. The imports in the last two years were as 
follows : 





Year. 


Cutch. 


Gambier. 




Quantity. 


Value. 


Quantity. 


Value. 






tons. 


£ 


tons. 


£ 






1875 


5,821 


141,412 


23,299 


606,050 






1876 


4,956 


120,872 


21,712 


493,120 





CUTCH. 



385 



The cutch of commerce is obtained chiefly from two species of 
Acacia. The common name, catechu, under which it sometimes 
passes, is derived from Cate, a tree, and cJiu, juice. It is usually called 
in India kat or kut. The trees from which it is prepared are chiefly : 
(1) Acacia Catechu, Willd. ^ Mimosa Sundra, Eoxb., a tree 80 or 40 
feet high, with dark-grey or brown bark, reddish and fibrous inter- 
nally. This tree is common in most parts of India and Burmah, where 
it is highly valued for its wood, which is used for posts, and for various 
domestic purposes, as well as for making catechu and charcoal, while 
the astringent bark serves for tanning. (2) A. Sima, Kurz ; Mimosa 
Suma, Roxb., is a large tree, with white bark, nearly related to the pre- 
ceding, but not having so extensive a geographical range. It grows 
in the south of India (Mysore), Bengal, and Guzerat. The bark is 
used in tanning, and catechu is made from the heart-wood, but not so 
extensively as from the former species. The process for preparing it 
varies slightly in different districts. The tree is reckoned to be of 
proper age when its trunk is about a foot in diameter. It is then cut 
down, and the whole of the woody part, with the exception of the 
smaller branches and the bark, is chopped into chips. Some accounts 
state that only the darker heart-wood is thus used. The chips are 
then placed with water in earthen jars, a series of which are arranged 
over a mud-built fireplace, usually in the open air. Here the water is 
made to boil, the liquor, as it becomes thick and strong, being 
decanted into another vessel, in which the evajioration is continued, 
until the extract is sufficiently inspissated, when it is poured into 
moulds made of clay, or of leaves pinned together in the shape of 
cups, or in some districts on to a mat covered with the ashes of cow- 
dung ; the drying in each case being completed by exposure to the 
sun and air. The product is a dark-brown extract, which is the usual 
form in which cutch is known in Europe. In Kumaon, in the north 
of India, a slight modification of the process affords a drug of very 
different appearance. Instead of evaporating the decoction to the 
condition of an extract, the inspissation is stopped at a certain point, 
and the liquor allowed to cool, coagulate, and crystallise over twigs 
and leaves thrown into the pots for the purpose. How this substar.ce 
is finished off we do not exactly know, but it is stated that by tliis 
process there is obtained from each pot about 2 lbs. of " katb," or 
catechu, of an ashy whitish appearance. This product is brought 
down from Berar and Nepaul to Calcutta. The cutch of Pegu has a 
high reputation. Catechu contains about 50 per cent, of tannin. It 
is used by dyers, not as a dyestuff, however, but as a source of tannic 
acid, which it contains in a very large quantity, and this has the 
property of forming, with a solution of a salt of sesquioxide of iron, 
an exceedingly deep, bluish-black liquid (ink). Catechu is used also 
in medicine as an astringent, on account of the large quantity of 
tannic acid which it contains. 

According to some accounts cutch, or catechu, is prepared thus : 
The tree is cut down to about 6 to 12 inches from the ground, and the 
inner wood chopped into small pieces, the smaller branches and bark 
being rejected. The chopped wood is then taken to the place of 
manufacture, generally under trees in the open air, and placed over a 

2 c 



386 



CUTCH. 



brisk fire in mud jars, called garrahs, filled witli about two-thirds of 
water. This is allowed to boil down, till, with the extracted matter, 
'it forms a liquid of syrupy consistence. The contents of several jars 
are then poured into a larger jar and then placed over a brisk fire for 
a period of from two to four hours, and, when sufficiently boiled 
down, it is poured out over mats covered with ashes of cowdung and 
allowed to dry. The w^ood when dry is used for fuel. 

The King of Burmah has the monopoly of this manufacture, of 
which a considerable quantity is exported. An official report, pub- 
lished at Eangoon, says : 

" The reservation of the Acacia Catechu for the production of cutch, 
in portions of the Thayet and Prome districts of British Burmah, has 
been of much advantage to the trade, for the following figures show, 
that whilst during the last year or two there has been a large falling 
off in the imports from Upper Burmah, the out-turn within British 
territory has increased : 





Year. 


Exports from 
Pegu. 


Imported from 
Upper Burmala. 


Balance pro- 
duced in Pegu. 






1871- 72 

1872- 73 

1873- 74 

1874- 75 


mds. 
224,564 
416,987 
247,468 
274,436 


mds. 
97,536 
153,628 
62,581 
50,163 


' mds. 

127,028 

263,359 

184,887 

224,273 





" There should be no serious objection to reserving further areas 
for the growth of this tree on the banks of the Naweng river in the 
Prome district, by which stream firewood and the cutch manufacture 
could easily be brought to market. There is a great demand for fuel 
for the river steamers, and the present supply is by no means of first- 
class quality ; at the same time, the cutch market is in a satisfactory 
state, and is likely to continue so." 

Other kinds of catechu are j)repared in India. The commonest kind 
is that from the nut of the Areca Catechu. Heyne gives the following 
as the mode of preparation in Mysore : — The nuts are boiled for some 
hours in an iron vessel, which furnishes the astringent extract called 
kossa, which is black, and mixed with paddy husks and other im- 
purities. After the nuts are dried, they are put into a fresh quantity 
of water and boiled again, and this water being inspissated like the 
former, yields the best kind of catechu, called cooney. It is yellowish- 
brown, has an earthy fracture, and is free from the admixtm*e of 
foreign bodies. 

The betel nuts are prepared for use in various ways. They are boiled, 
and when the water has become red and thick the nuts are taken out, 
cut in slices with a simple lever cutter, and dried in the sun ; they are 
then once more steeped in the liquid and again dried. From the 
decoction of the nuts two kinds of catechu are obtained, one called 
cattacumboo, is used as a masticatory chewed with the betel leaf ; the 
other, called cash cuttie, is used medicinally as an astringent. 

The collection and preparation of the betel nuts are described under 
the head of the Betel Palm, p. 279. 



GABIBIER. 



387 



Besides the quantity of cutch sent to Europe from Singapore 
there is a considerable export to Java, Cochin China, and other 
neighbouring countries ; 15,252 cwt. of cutch were imported into 
Penang in 1870. 

The imports of cutch into the United Kingdom were in — 





Tons. 




Tons, 


1866 .. . 


, . 2434 






1867 , , 


, 2111 


1873 , 


6998 


18G8 


.. 3541 


1874 .. 


, 4593 


1869 , , 


. 2573 


1875 , 




1870 , . 


, 5946 


1876 .. 


4956 


1871 , . 


, . 5532 







British India supplies the largest portion, 

Gambiee, — The gambler plant is a stout, climbing shrub, a native 
of the countries bordering on the Straits of Malacca, and especially of 
the numerous islands at their eastern end. There would appear to 
be two species employed: — (1) The Uncaria Gamhir, Eoxb. ; the 
Nauclea Gamhir of Hunter. (2) Uncaria acida, Hunt. The cultiva- 
tion and manufacture seem to have been commenced at Singapore in 
1819, and it rapidly extended, until there were about 600 or 800 
plantations ; but, owing to a scarcity of fuel, without an abundant 
supply of which manufacture is impossible, and labour becoming also 
dear, they were reduced to about 400 in 1850, and in 1866 the cultiva- 
tion was fast disappearing on the island. Of late years, owing to an 
increased demand for the product, and higher prices ruling, it has 
rapidly recovered. The first shipments from Singapore were 3234 cwts, 
in 1830 ; in 1834, 2322 cwts. were sent to England, the price being- 
more moderate, and its use becoming better understood, an active 
demand arose, which has since continued. The culture is also largely 
pursued on the mainland, where, in 1851, there were 200 plantations. 
In the islands of the Hhio Linga Archipelago, lying south-east of Singa- 
pore, and on the Island of Bintang, the most northerly of the grou]), 
there were, in 1854, 1250 gambier plantations. In the three years 
ending 1870, there was imported, chiefly from Ehio, into Singapore an 
average of 240,000 cwts. of gambier. The total exports from Singa- 
pore in 1870 were 34,550 tons, and in 1871, 34,248 tons, of which 
19,550 were received from Ehio and the Malay Peninsula. In 1872, 
190,600 piculs were made in Ehio. The plant is propagated either by 
seeds or cuttings, but the latter are preferred. At the expiration of 
fourteen months the first cutting of the branches, with the leaves on, 
is made- The plantations are often formed in clearings of the jungle, 
where they last for a few years, and are then abandoned, owing to 
the impoverishment of the soil and the irrepressible growth of the 
" lalang " grass {Imperata Koenigii, Beauv.), which is more difficult 
to eradicate than even primeval jungle. It has been found profitable 
to combine with the cultivation of gambier that of pepper, for which 
the boiled leaves of the gambier form an excellent manure. The 
gambier plants are allowed to grow from 8 to 10 feet high, and as 
their foliage is always in season, each plant is stripped three or four 
times in the year. The apparatus and all that belongs to the manu- 

2 c 2 



388 



ANNOTTA, OR ARNOTTO. 



facture of tlie extract are of the most primitive description. A 
shallow cast-iron pan, about 3 feet across, is built into an earthen 
fireplace. Water is poured into the pan, a fire is kindled, and the 
leaves and young shoots, freshly plucked, are scattered in and boiled 
for about an hour. At the end of this time they are thrown into a 
capacious steeping trough, the lower end of which projects into the 
pan, and squeezed with the hand so that the absorbed liquor may run 
back into the boiler. The decoction is then evaporated to the con- 
sistency of a syrup, and baled out into buckets. When sufficiently 
cool, it is subjected to a curious treatment. Instead of simply stirring 
it round, the workman pushes a stick of soft wood in a 'sloping direc- 
tion into every bucket, and placing two such buckets before him, he 
works a stick up and down in each. The liquor thickens round the 
stick, and the thickened portion being constantly rubbed off, while at 
the same time the whole is in motion, it gradually sets into a mass, a 
result which the workman affirms would never be produced by simply 
stirring round. Though we are not prepared to concur in the work- 
man's opinion, it is reasonable to suppose that his manner of treating 
the liquor favoui'S the crystallization of the substance in a more con- 
crete form than it might otherwise assume. The thickened mass, 
which is said by another writer to resemble soft, yellowish clay, is 
now i^laced in shallow, square boxes, and when somewhat hardened, 
is cut into cubes and dried in the shade. The leaves are boiled a 
second time, and finally washed in water, which water is saved for 
another operation. A plantation with five or six labourers contains 
on an average 70,000 to 80,000 shrubs, and yields from 50 to 60 lbs. 
of gambier daily. (' Pharmacographia.') 

The following have been the imports of gambier into the United 
Kingdom : 





Tons. 




Tons. 


18G6 


12,845 


1872 .. . 


.. 21,155 


18G7 .. , 


13,237 


1873 . , 


,. 22,514 


18G8 . 


20,239 


1874 ,, 


.. 16,728 


1869 , 


10,267 


1875 


, 23,299 


1870 


19,050 


1876 ,, 


.. 21,721 











Annotta, or Arnotto. — The culture of the plant producing this 
dye-stufl' is cliiefly carried on in the French colonies of Guadaloupe 
and Cayenne, where it is known as roucou, and in other parts of 
South America as achiote. It is washed off from the seeds of a small 
tree or shrub, the Bixa orellana, a native of the warm parts of South 
America, the East and West Indies, and Africa. The plant is grown 
in the Deccan and other parts of India and the Eastern Archi- 
pelago, in the Pacific Islands, Brazil, Peru, and Zanzibar. The fruit 
is like a chestnut, a two-valved capsule covered with flexible bristles, 
and contains a certain number of seeds smaller than peas. These 
seeds are covered with a soft, viscous, resinous pulp, of a beautiful 
vermilion colour, and unpleasaot smell like red lead mixed with oil, 
and it is this substance which constitutes annotta, or arnotto. The 
modein which it is obtained is by pouring hot water over the pulp 
and seeds, and leaving them to macerate, and then separating them by 



ANNOTTA, OR AllNOTTO. 



389 



pounding with a wooden pestle. The seeds are removed by straining 
the mass through a sieve ; and the pulp being allowed to settle, the water 
is gently poured off, and the pulp put into shallow vessels, in which it 
is gradually dried in the shade. After acquiring a proper consistenco 
it is made into cylindrical rolls or balls, and placed in an airy place 
to dry, after which it is sent to market. It used to be most common 
in this form of small rolls, each 2 or 3 ozs. in weight, hardj dry, and 
compact; brownish without and red within. The other process of 
manufacture is that pursued in Cayenne. The pulp and seeds together 
are bruised in wooden vessels, and hot water poured over them ; they 
are then left to soak for several days, and afterwards passed through 
a close sieve to separate the seeds. The matter is then left to ferment 
for about a week, when the water is gently poured off, and the solid 
part left to dry in the shade. When it has acquired the consistence of 
solid paste, it is formed into cakes of 3 or 4 lbs. weight, which are 
wrapped in the leaves of the banana, and known in commerce as 
flag arnotto. This variety is of a bright yellow colour, rather soft 
to the touch, and of considerable solidity. 

Labat informs us that the Indians prepare an annotta greatly 
superior to that which is brought to us, of a bright shining red 
colour, almost equal to carmine. For this purpose, instead of steeping 
and fermenting the seeds in water they rub them with the hands, 
previously dipped in oil, till the pulp comes off and is reduced to a 
clear paste, which is scraped off from the hands with a knife, and 
laid on a clean leaf in the shade to dry. Mixed with lemon juice and 
gum, it makes the crimson paint with which Indians adorn their 
bodies ; and they employ the leaves and roots in cookery to increase 
the flavour and give a saffron colour. 

It owes its value to the colouring matter bixin and orellin, which 
constitute about 20 per cent, of good dry annotta. Fresh annotta 
contains more than half its weight of water. It was formerly em^ 
ployed in dyeing wool and silks, but its colour though beautiful at first 
soon fades, and hence it has been abandoned for more permanent dyes» 

Annotta is principally consumed by painters and dyers ; but it is 
also used to colour cheese with a pale yellow or flesh colour. The 
Dutch use it for heightening the colour of their butter, and it is em.m 
ployed for the same purpose in some American and English dairies. 

The following shows the position of the production of this dye^ 
stuff in the two French colonies : 







^Guadaloupe. 


French Guiana. 






Year. 


Hectares 
under 
Culture. 


Produce. 


Hectares 

under 
Culture, 


Produce. 






1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 


385 
496 
687 
725 
661 
528 


kilos. 
313,200 
379,400 
675,938 
668,896 
542,850 
369,600 


2,182 
2,456 
2,233 
1,945 
1,832 
1,783 


kilos. 
626,362 
691,998 
659,295 
487,579 
463,087 
445,915 





390 



HENNA. 



In Guadaloupe there are 48 plantations on which it is grown, 
employing 1044 labourers. In French Guiana there are 563, which 
employ 2110 hands. The net value of the crop in 1874, after 
deducting expenses of culture, &c., was stated at 3567Z. 

The Board of Trade having ceased to particularize the imports 
of this article into the United Kingdom, there are no later returns 
available than those of 1870. The following are the imports and 
value for a few years in cwts. : 



Year. 


Roll. 


Flag. 




cwts. 


cwts. 


1866 


1209 


2631 


18H7 


2480 


2860 


1868 


1035 


2981 


1869 


2670 


3111 


1870 


773 


3903 



The flag annotta is worth double the price of roll annotta. The 
prices in March, 1877, were 2d, to 9d, per lb. for roll, and M, to 
Is. 6d. fur flag. 

Henna (Lawsonia alba, Lamk. ; L. spiuosa, and inermis, Lin. ; 
Alcanna spinosa, Gaert.). This plant grows plentifully in Egypt and 
in most parts of the East, as far as India. From the leaves a paste 
is compounded with which every Eastern beauty colours her hands 
and feet. Nay, so ancient is the custom, that mummies have been 
found with their nails dyed with henna. In later times, Mahommed 
used henna as a dye for his beard, and the fashion was followed by 
several of the caliphs. The use of henna is scarcely to be called a 
caprice in the east. There is a quality in the drug which gently 
restrains perspiration in the hands and feet, and produces an agree- 
able coolness, equally conducive to health and comfort. It forms an 
important article of commerce in all the Arabian towns. The pro- 
duction in Egypt is said to exceed 6,500,000 lbs. ; 2216 cwt., valued at 
3545Z,, were shipped from Morocco in 1873. 

Henna is largely used throughout Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Persia, and 
India, as a substantive dye-stuff. It is but slightly, if at all, soluble in 
cold water, but warm water into which a little lime has been thrown 
readily dissolves oat the colouring matter. 

Henna is cultivated on a large scale at Touat ; a portion of this 
region bears the significant name of the Henna Touat. The caravans 
of Sahara supply all the Moghreb with it, and great use is made of 
the plant as a cosmetic. European industry obtains from it a good 
black dye. It is sold at Touat, 0*10 to 0*20 centimes for the rotal 
of 1500 grammes. 

Henna appears to have been known in India in the time of Arrian, 
as may be inferred from his statement that the people of India daub 
their beards white, red, purple and green. It is used by the western 
Hindoos, and the plant is abundantly cultivated in the vicinity of 
Bombay, It is generally planted in India in the gardens and fields 



ALKANET ROOT. 



391 



around houses for the aroma of its flowers. It blooms all the year 
round, and forms hedges in some places. The leaves are used to dye 
the hair and skin, and it is also employed to tinge the nails and the 
skin of the Indian women, especially those of the Mussulman race ; it 
is mixed with catechu. Medicinal properties are also attributed to 
it ; the natives use it in cutaneous affections, in epilepsy and jaundice. 

The Turks and Arabs are very fond of dyeing the manes, tails and 
hoofs of their white or grey horses of a fine mahogany brown with 
henna. They also use it for their own braids of hair, a fine natural 
black being afterwards obtained by a second dyeing with indigo. 

Henna has been known from antiquity, and sought for the perfume 
of its flowers. These are employed to scent the oils and pomades 
used to anoint the body and give it suppleness. It was also used for 
embalming, as the heads of flowers have been found in mummy cases. 
The ancients prepared with the leaves a powder called Archenda, now 
known as henna. The females use it to improve their appearance, and 
to colour their hands, feet and nails, of a rose-orange, a custom 
formerly very extended, but which is not now so fashionable in the 
East.* 

Some botanists enumerate two species, L. inermis, and L. spinosa, 
Avhile others hold that, although the leaves of the former are larger 
than those of the latter, they are both the same species, in spite of 
one bearing thorns and the other not. The best henna comes from 
Mecca, and is brought to Constantinople by returning pilgrims. In 
general appearance it closely resembles the common privet. It is 
propagated by cuttings planted in shady situations, and is a fast- 
growing shrub ; when the shoots reach the length of about 8 feet, they 
are cut with a sickle and stripped of their leaves, which are dried in 
the sun and finely powdered in a kind of rude hand-mill. In about 
two months or so, when a fresh set of shoots have reached the proper 
size, a second gathering is made, each plant yielding two or even 
three crops a year. If the plant is cultivated for the sake of the 
flowers, the shoots are allowed to grow to the length of 5 or 6 feet 
before they are cut. The fresh flowers, which give out a delicious 
odour, have been sold in the streets of Alexandria and Cairo from 
time immemorial. 

Alkanet Eoot. — The dark blood-red root of Anchusa (AlJcanna) 
tindoria, growing on sandy places around the Mediterranean Sea, 
enters into commerce to a small extent. It is insoluble in water, but 
soluble in alcohol, ether, and bisulphuret of carbon. It is not at the 
present day employed as a dye-stuff, its chief uses being in pharmacy 
to colour medicines ; in perfumery to colour oils and greases, to stain 
woods, and to give a tint to the lime-wash used for the walls of 
private dwellings. 

In China this root is used to bring out the eruption in smallpox 
and to colour candles. It fetches from 85 to 44 dollars the picul ; in 
London it sells at 29s. to 81s. the cwt. 



* ' Chemist aud Druggist,' 1876, p, 388. 



( 392 ) 



SECTION V. 



THE OIL SEEDS AND VEGETABLE OILS 
OF COMMERCE. 

Great as tas been tlie eEtension of commerce and the progress of 
our foreign agricultural supplies, the Oil Seeds of commerce are 
yet far from commensurate to the increasing wants of Eiu'ope. It is 
therefore a wise provision that new discoveries crop up from time to 
time, arising from the progress of scientific research, or the extension 
of foreign agricultiu-e to meet in some measure these increased 
demands. When the oils yielded by the whale fishery declined, and 
by their enhanced price became too expensive for manufactures, in- 
creased attention was given to the production of vegetable oils, and 
larger quantities of oil seeds for crushing, from Europe, Africa and 
the East, were obtained. Even these were found insufiicient for the 
increased demand, till the discovery of the mineral oil springs came 
in to supply the wants. The vegetable oils, however, provide, and 
will long continue to do so, the bulk of the consumption. 

In the section on " The Useful Palms," some of the chief vegetable 
oils, such as Cocoanut oil and Palm oil, have already been described, 
and I now proceed to notice others. 

The Olive. — The olive (Olea Europea) is supposed to have been 
originally a native of Asia, and grows abundantly about Aleppo and 
Lebanon, but it is now naturalized in Greece, Italy, Spain, and the 
South of France, where it has been extensively cultivated for an un- 
known length of time, for the oil expressed from its fruit. The wild 
olive is found indigenous in Syria, Greece, and Africa, on the lower 
slopes of the Atlas. The cultivated one grows spontaneously in Syria, 
and is easily raised on the shores of the Levant. Much attention has, 
of late years, been paid to olive culture by the French in Algeria. 
Tuscany, the South of France, and the plains of Spain, are the parts of 
Europe in which the olive was earliest cultivated. The Tuscans were 
the first who exported olive oil largely, and thus it has obtained the 
name of Florence oil ; but the purest is said to be obtained fi'om Aix 
in France. 

The olive in the western world followed the progress of peace, of 
which it was considered the symbol. * Two centuries after the founda- 
tion of Rome, both Italy and Africa were strangers to that useful 
plant: it was naturalized in those countries, and at length carried 
into the heart of Spain and Gaul. Its usefulness, the little culture 



OLIVE OIL. 



393 



it requires, and the otherwise barren situations which it renders pro- 
ductive, quickly spread it over the western face of the Apennines. 
According to Humboldt the olive is cultivated with success in every 
part of the old world where the mean temperature of the year is 
between 58° and 66° ; the temperature of the coldest month not being 
under 42° ; nor that of summer below 71°. These conditions are 
found in Spain, Portugal, the South of France, Italy, Turkey, and 
Greece. The olive also flourishes on the north-west of Africa, but is not 
found south of the Great Desert, except in parts of the Cape Colony, 
where it has been introduced or grafted on indigenous species. 

In Europe it extends as far north as latitude 44^°, in America 
scarcely to latitude 34° — so much greater is the severity of the winter 
on that side of the Atlantic. In the neighbourhood of Quito, 
situated under the equator, at a height of 8000 feet above the level 
of the sea, where the temperature varies even less than in the island 
climates of the temperate zone, the olive attains the magnitude of the 
oak, yet never produces fruit. 

Olive oil may be said to form the cream and butter of those 
countries in which it is pressed ; the tree has been cultivated in all 
ages as the bounteous gift of heaven, and the emblem of peace and 
plenty. There is a common saying in Italy that " if you want to 
leave a lasting inheritance to your children's children, plant an 
olive." 

In Italy the young olive bears fruit at two years old ; that is in 
two years after it has been placed in the plantation. In six years it 
begins to repay the expense of cultivation, if the ground is not other- 
wise cropped. After that period the produce is the surest source of 
wealth to the farmer. 

The exports of olive oil from the principal producing countries are 
as follows, according to the latest returns : 

Spain, 1873 52,329,000 kilos. 

Italy, 1873 60,260,500 „ 

France, 1875 8,600,000 „ 

Greece, 1873 9,213,257 ocques. 

Tunis, 1873 , .. 3,472 tuns. 



We receive supplies from Portugal, Spain, Italy, the Austrian 
territories, Greece, Turkey, Tripoli, and Tunis, Morocco and other 
countries. 

Imports of olive oil into the United Kingdom : 



1840 
1811 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 
1846 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 



Tuns. 
8,783 
4,734 
14,095 
12,094 
14,962 
12,315 
8,534 
8,692 
10,086 
16,964 
20,784 
11,503 



1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 



Tuns. 
10,102 
32,888 
25,449 
21,415 
18,862 
25,121 
19,786 
20,859 
17,325 
21,095 
19,866 
16,705 



1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 



Tans. 
32,005 
23,690 
19,993 
17,585 
28 ,.240 
23,202 
38,281 
24,025 
35,121 
22,720 
35,453 
23,975 



394 



OLIVE OIL. 



There are two planis covering all the Peninsula — the vine and the 
olive tree. They grow alike luxuriously in the cool north, on the 
shores of the Po, and in the sunny south, where their green leaves 
form the ornament even of Vesuvius and Etna. 

The olive tree demands a dry and limy soil ; its introduction into 
Italy was therefore very successful. The soil of the Apennines, 
which extend through the whole Peninsula and branch off in all 
directions, consists mostly of lime, and is very favourable to the 
growth of the olive tree. We find the stately tree, with its beautiful 
crown and evergreen leaves, spread over the whole Peninsula where 
the temperature does not fall below 60°. 

The best olive oils of Italy come from Genoa, Lucca, and Tuscany, 
but excellent qualities are drawn from the Neapolitan country and 
Sicily. The total production was estimated in 1862 at 1,767,000 
hectolitres, including the frullino oils, which are thick, coloured, and 
only applicable to industrial purposes, and the oils obtained from the 
residues, which are treated by sulphide of carbon. The fine and 
ordinary oils are clear, limpid, and of excellent flavour. The mean 
production of fine oil is estimated at 13,000,000 of kilogrammes, and 
of ordinary at 9,000,000. 

The exports have been as follows : 

Kilos. Kilos. 

1871 12,161,000 1874 26,544,000 

1872 20,668,000 1875 6,007,000 

1873 52,129,000 

The most extensive use is made of the olive. Its harvest begins 
when scarcely ripe. The green olives are put into a solution of salt ; 
they are kept there for some time, to cause them to lose their natural 
bitter taste, then carefully preserved in vinegar, mixed with different 
spices, and sold in bottles or small barrels. Those of Tuscany and 
Lucca are considered the best, on account of their light green colour 
and strong flesh. In all parts of southern Europe they are, in this 
form, a daily food. 

The treatment of the ripe olive is more important. They are 
gathered in the fall, when they are as large as common plums ; their 
colour is dark green, and the soft kernel has changed into a hard 
stone, which contains a savoury almond. The flesh is spongy, and 
its little cells are filled with the mild oil, which pours out at the least 
pressure. 

The olive tree bears about ten pounds of fruit, but in very rich 
years double that quantity can be gathered. The finest oil is the so- 
called virgin oil. To obtain the oil no preparation is needed; the 
freshly gathered olives are put into little heaps, and by their own 
weight the oil is pressed out, and is caught in some vessel. It is 
clear, like water, has a delicate nut-like taste, with little or no odour. 
When the fruits cease to give the oil by themselves, they are pressed 
with small millstones. The oil gained by this process is also clear 
and of pleasant taste. After this treatment the olives are still rich in 
oil, which only demands some work to draw it out. To accomplish 
this, the fruits are put into sacks, boiling water poured over them, and 



OLIVE OIL. 



395 



they are pressed once more. The oil gained by this process is 
yellowish-green, has a sharp taste, and an unpleasant smell, because 
it contains some mucilaginous matters. Sometimes the so-treated 
olives are once more pressed and boiled over ; the oil thus obtained 
is called in France " huile d'enfer," and is only used for burning or 
similar uses. The olives may also be brought to a fermentative 
process, before pressing them, which gives more oil, but of a less fine 
quality. 

At Marseilles the olive oils are classed into manufacturing oil, for 
burning or for factories, refined, oil from the pulp or husks, and 
table or edible oil. The latter is divided into superfine, fine, half 
tine, and ordinary. The quantity taken for consumption of the 
different kinds was as follows : 





1874. 


1875, 






kilos. 


kilos. 






3,200,000 


6,200,000 




Oil of pulp or husks . . 


1,500,000 


2,600,000 




Manufacturing oil 


3,000,000 


5,700,000 






4,000,000 


3,600,000 





The imports at Marseilles were 15,200,000 kilos, in 1874, and 
22,600,000 in 1875. 

The Italians keep their oil in stone jars, as did their classic 
ancestors. The oil for sale is filled into barrels of oak wood im- 
ported from Germany. The oil needs always a very attentive treat- 
ment. By a long rest some slimy part of it settles at the bottom ; 
these dregs must be removed, or the oil would become rancid; there- 
fore the barrels are tapped every six months, and filled anew. The 
treatment resembles that of wine, but v^^ith this difference, that oils of 
a finer quality can seldom be kept more than three years. 

The oil made in the district of Oneglia is better than that of 
Southern Italy, and large quantities are refined before being exported. 
The process of refining the oil is very simple. Large shallow tin 
boxes are made, with small holes pierced in the bottom ; this is then 
covered with a thin sheet of wadding. Four, five, or more of these 
boxes are placed on frames, one over the other, and the oil being 
poured into the top box, is allowed to soak through the wadding and 
drop into the next box, and so on until it gets into the last, when it 
runs off into the tanks. The wadding absorbs all the thick particles 
contained in the oil when it comes from the mills, and leaves it per- 
fectly clear and tasteless. The oil thus refined is almost exclusively 
exported to Nice, where it is put into flasks, and sent all over the world 
as " Huile de Nice." 

From the island of Crete about 2250 tuns of olive oil are shipped, 
valued at 100,000/., and 77,000 cwts. of soap, worth as much more. 

Balearic Islands.— The tree upon which the olive is grown is found 
wild in the mountain lands in these islands, as a shrub, producing a 
fruit which bears no oil. When brought under cultivation grafting is 
practised. In countries where more care is exercised in the prepara- 



396 



OLIVE OIL. 



tion of olive oil than is displayed here, the " virgin oil " obtained from 
the fruit when first pressed is carefully separated, as being of a better 
quality than that which is procured by the application of hot water to 
the bruised fruit, and by the application of greater pressure. But the 
quantity of virgin oil produced in these islands is quite insignificant, 
although it is of excellent quality. All the oil that can be squeezed 
out of the olives by means of the antiquated machinery still in use is 
generally poured into one common tank and left to clarify as best it 
may ; or, at most, the olives are roughly sorted, the inferior ones being 
made into oil for the soap-boilers. The fruit, whether ripe, over-ripe, 
half-green, or wholly rotten, or whether it may have been knocked 
down by the beaters' canes, or blown down by the wind and rain in 
stormy weather, and trodden under foot, is too commonly all picked 
up about one time by the women and children who are employed at 
the gathering season. It is then, after being sorted or not, as the case 
may be, crushed under the millstone, and the oil di-awn by the appli- 
cation of boiling water. The refuse of the olives after the last crushing, 
which is far from getting out all the oil contained in the pulpy mass, 
is used to feed the fires required to boil the water. Probably, nowhere 
may be seen more magnificent olive trees, or better olives, than those 
grown in these islands ; but the oil, from being unrefined, is often 
acrid in taste and inferior to that of other countries. 

Syria. — Olive oil is produced throughout the country, but chiefly 
on the plains of Safet, Nazareth, and Nablono. The average produce 
is estimated at about 7000 tuns. In 1871 about 1800 were exported, 
and prices ranged from 60Z. 10s. to 41Z. 10s. per tun. The plantations 
are being extended principally on the coast line between Latakia and 
Jaffa, the climate of which is peculiarly adapted for olive cultivation. 
Nearly half a million of new trees are said to be annually planted 
throughout the country. The quality of the finer sort of oil is found 
equal to the Italian, while that from the neighbourhood of Sidon is 
said to rival the finest qualities that Europe can produce. About one 
half of the oil is consumed in soap-making, one quarter in eating 
and burning, and the remaining quarter is exported chiefly to France. 
The oil press used is the rude native one, and there is but one Euro- 
pean press in the country. 

The exports of olive oil from Greece were in — 

Ocques. Ocques. 

1871 9,213,257 1873 G, 381, 471 

1872 2,592,513 1871 2,919,421 

Like most other trees that have been cultivated for a length of time, 
the olive has produced numerous varieties; different countries, or 
even different districts, cultivating their peculiar favourite. 

The variety longifolia and its many sub-varieties are chiefly culti- 
vated in France and Italy ; the variety latifolia and its sub-varieties 
are those chiefly cultivated in Spain ; the fruit of the variety latifolia 
is nearly twice the size of the common olive of Provence and Italy, 
but the oil is greatly inferior. 

There are several varieties of olive, differing less in their fruit than 
in the form of their leaves : two of these have been introduced into 



OLIVE OIL. 



397 



the Cape Colony, one of them from England, by Mr. Thomas Berry, 
in the year 1821, and the other variety, I believe, from France, since 
that period. The European olive may be propagated in various ways. 
Cuttings of nine inches in length, taken from one year old shoots, may 
be planted in a rich light soil, and kept moderately moist ; the ground 
ought never to be allowed to become very dry ; these will root freely 
in a few weeks, and be fit for transplanting in twelve months. In 
Italy the propagation is conducted in the same manner in which it 
was during the time of the Eomans. 

" An old tree is hewn down, and the ' ceppo ' or stock (that is, the 
collar or neck between the root and the trunk, where in all plants 
the principle of life more eminently resides), is cut into pieces of 
nearly the size and shape of a mushroom, and which from that cir- 
cumstance are called novoli; care at the same time is taken that a 
small portion of bark shall belong to each novoli ; these, after having 
been dipped in manure, are put into the earth, soon throw up shoots, 
are transplanted at the end of one year, and in three years are fit to 
form an olive yard."* Truncheons, or stakes of the olive, 2 inches 
thick and 5 feet long, may be driven into the ground where they are 
intended to remain, and root freely. Shoots of one or two years' 
growth may be laid down, giving them a twist to crack the bark ; or 
slit them half-way through, when they root very readily. These 
operations should be performed in the month of August. 

In France and Italy uncertainty prevails in the crops of olives ; 
sometimes one that yields a profit does not occur for six or eight years 
together ; and hence it is considered that the culture is less beneficial 
to the peasants of those countries than that of corn ; but these cir- 
cumstances do not appear to apply to the southern colonies, especially 
as the olive may be cultivated on ground which is impenetrable to the 
plough or spade. 

France. — The olive is grown in 12 departments, all situated in 
the south ; the departments where it is chiefly cultivated are : Var, 
Vaucluse, Bouches du Ehone, Gaud, and Alpes Maritime?. The 
extent of land occupied with this tree in 1871 was 129,143 hectares. 
The production in fruit amounted to 2,402,610 hectolitres. Allowing 
from this 15 per cent, for fruit eaten locally, there would remain 
2,000,000 hectolitres converted into oil, which produced 260,000 cwts., 
valued roughly at 36,920,000 frs. 

The olive tree is almost the only product of a large portion of the 
mountainous district of Nice, and produces (where there is no possibility 
of other produce requiring tillage and husbandry) a small return for 
the labour bestowed on the trees and the manufacture of the oil. Each 
small proprietor takes his olives as he gathers them to a mill in small 
quantities, using it in common with his neighbours, and paying for 
its use a percentage of Lis oil, and the refuse of his olives and the oil 
is taken to market for sale in small quantities, according to the daily 
produce. 

More than 15,000 acres are planted with this tree in Nice, pro- 
ducing on an average 180,000 to 200,000 gallons of oil. The tree 
grows well even at great elevations above the sea, and will stand 
* Blunt's ' Vestiges,' &c, p. 216. 



398 



OLIVE OIL. 



10 degrees of cold ; but tlie produce is uncertain, on account of the 
length of time which the fruit remains on. The olive tree grows 
slowly, and yields no crop until it is twenty years old. The olives 
are collected about December by beating the trees, a mode of treat- 
ment that bruises the fruit and injures the quality of the oil ; in fact, 
neither olives nor oil are ever so good as when picked by hand. There 
are 168 oil mills in the district, 115 worked by water, the others by 
horse-power. Ten gallons of good olives will yield 1 to 1.4 gallons 
of oil, but the average quantity is about 10 per cent. There are 
very nearly 800,000 olive trees in the country of Nice, and each 
tree will give in a good year from 50 to 150 kilos, of olives, according 
to size. 

There are five kinds of olive trees principally cultivated in the 
south of France, viz., Yerdall, which yields good oil, and makes a 
good conserve ; Blanquet, with a particularly sweet and delicate oil 
(these two have low-growing branches, which enables them to be 
picked by hand) ; Bouquettier, a very superior oil ; Kedouanou, 
which stands cold well ; Olivier de Grasse yields excellent oil, but 
grows high, and is not so well adapted for picking. 

Spain. — The oil from the olive holds a considerable place in the agri- 
cultural produce of Spain. It is calculated that 1,000,000 hectares are 
planted in olives. The oil is employed for every conceivable purpose, 
and although the consumption is very great, yet the exports increase 
year by year. Like the vine, the Spaniards are equally careless culti- 
vators of the olive, and from want of attention the quality of the fruit 
is injured and the yield of oil reduced. During harvest time there 
is often a deficiency of labour, and after having knocked down the 
olives, it is customary to leave them in great heaps, there to shrivel 
up and ferment until the winter before extracting the oil. This 
renders the very best oils unfitted for use in the cuisine of any other 
country except Spain, where the tastes of the inhabitants are peculiar. 
There is no doubt that whenever the extraction of the oil is made at 
the proper season, and precautions are taken to avoid rancidity, there 
will be obtained in Spain oil equally good for the table as is to be 
procured even in Provence. 

Algeria. — The climate here is especially suited to the olive, which 
grows spontaneously at all j)oints of the three provinces. According 
to the latest details there are over 8,000,000 olive trees, the half of 
which are grafted. It may be remarked here that though the fruit 
of the grafted tree is larger and more fleshy, and contains therefore 
more oil, that of the wild olive tree yields a finer and pleasanter kind. 
The production of oil is increasing yearly, and there are improvements 
noticeable in its quality. The province of Constantino furnishes 
annually about 160,000 hectolitres, of which one-third is exported. 
And although there are no precise details as to the other two 
provinces, the production in these is equally considerable. 

Morocco. — The olive gardens of the south form picturesque groves 
of great extent. Their produce constitutes the principal wealth of the 
provinces of Haha and Sus. But the oil, probably from the imperfect 
methods of preparing it, is greatly inferior to that of Spain and Italy. 
It is, however, exported from Mogador in large quantities. 



LINSEED OIL. 



399 



Tunis. — Susa, Monastir, Media, Sfax, and Biserta, are the best olive 
districts in the Eegency, there being at the former place upwards of 
4,000,000 trees, and if the cultivation were more energetically attended 
to double the crops could easily be produced. The olives are gathered 
in December and January, the pickers using leather coverings to the 
fingers. There are two kinds of oil, the " masri," strong in flavour 
and smell, and the " drup-el-ma," which is deprived of both by being 
passed through water. 

In the ten years ending with 1871 the quantity of oil shipped from 
Tunis amounted to 2,639,050 metalli, valued at 100,000,000 piastres. 
Italy and France receive the largest quantity, England and Austria 
rank next in order. In 1873 the shipments were 3472 tuns, valued at 
125,893Z. 

Linseed Oil is obtained from the seed of the flax plant (Linum 
usitatissimum), formerly called lint-seed. We used to obtain almost 
all our supply of the seed from Russia, but now we get a good deal 
from India. Of the imports in 1875, 369,163 quarters came from 
India, and the rest from the Continent, chiefly Russia. The aggregate 
value of the seed received was 4,675,242/. As a general rule, the 
colder the climate in which the seed is grown the greater are the 
drying properties of the oil, although it is not so good in colour. 
The East Indian seed is much mixed with rape and other seeds. 

There are two varieties of this oil. The most valuable is the 
" cold drawn," which is extracted by cold pressure, and is paler, less 
odorous, and has less taste than that obtained by the aid of heat. By 
cold expression, the yield of oil is from 21 to 22 per cent, of the 
seeds ; with the aid of heat, combined with a powerful and long- 
continued pressure, as much as 28 per cent, can be obtained. If a 
very fine oil be required, the process of cold expression must be 
pursued ; and as the utmost degree of purity is the great deside- 
ratum in varnish-making, this quality is generally employed by 
makers of high-class varnish. A very good oil, however, may be 
obtained by a steam heat not exceeding 200°. 

The marc remaining after the expression of the oil is generally 
known as oilcake, and is an article of great importance to the 
agriculturists of those countries in which flax is grown, being 
extensively employed, especially in the winter season, as food for 
cattle. 

The mode of expressing the oil is as follows : The seed is first 
passed between iron rollers, in order to crack the husks. They are 
then introduced into a hopper, through which, by means of a fluted 
roller, they are caused to descend between the crushing rollers, after 
passing which they fall into a receiver. They are then passed on to 
two vertical granite mill-stones, which bruise them to a pasty mass, 
and this is then heated to a greater or less extent by being placed in 
pans over an open fire, or in connection with steam or boiling 
water. 

The object of the heat is to coagulate the albumen contained in the 
seeds and render the oil more limpid, and, therefore, more easily 
expressed. The mass is then transferred to a hydraulic press. The 



400 



THE GROUND-NUT. 



metliod of pounding tlie seed in hard wooden mortars, with pestles 
shod with iron, and set in motion by cams driven by a shaft turned 
by horse or water-power, was formerly used. The bruised seed was 
then transferred to woollen bags, which were wrapped in horsehair 
cloth and squeezed between upright wedges in press-boxes. This 
arrangement, known as the Dutch mill, is still obstinately adhered 
to in some districts of England and the Continent, it being supposed 
to be preferable to the hydraulic mills and presses, which have in 
modern times almost entirely superseded the old method. 

The manufacture of linseed oil in 1860 was estimated at 65,000 tuns, 
of which 33,700 tuns were exported. As our imports of linseed are 
now half as much more than they were in 1860, the make of oil must 
proportionately larger. 

Imports of linseed and flax seed into the United Kingdom : 

Quarters. Quarters. 

1840 444,759 1870 1,490,695 

1850 608,984 1875 1,961,987 

1860 1,330,623 1876 1,998,130 

We exported in 1876 18,206,860 gallons of seed oils, valued at 
1,898,830Z. 

In France there were in 1871 67,216 hectares under culture with 
flax and hemp, grown for the seed, which produced 567,693 hectolitres, 
of which 154,881 were reserved for sowing, and the rest converted 
into oil. A hectolitre of seed yields, on the average, a little more 
than 17 kilos, of oil and 32 kilos, of oilcake. Setting aside the less 
important usages of linseed, &c., and supposing the whole converted 
into oil, the following results are arrived at in the official French 
statistics : 

Production of oil 70,303 metrical quintals, of the rough value of 
6,817,529 francs; oil-cake of the rough value of 2,554,519 francs; 
total, 9,372,048 francs = 374,881/. The departments which princi- 
pally produce this oil are Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Nord, Maine et Loire, 
Vendee, Haute Marne, Haute Garonne, and Lot-et-Garonne. 

The Geound-Nut. — The plant (Arachis hypogcea) which produces 
the fruit, entering into commerce under the popular name of the 
ground-nut, is a little annual, with oblong leaves, growing in fours, 
and rather large yellow flowers, rising a little way above ground. 
It is one of a class which bury their pods in the earth, where they 
ripen, instead of raising them into the free air. In order to effect 
this, the flower-stalk, after the flower has passed away, gradually 
curves downwards, and at length forces its end perpendicularly into 
the soil, along with the very young pod which is seated there. Having 
buried itself sufficiently deep, the pod then begins to swell, and when 
ripe becomes an oblong, rugged, pale-brown fruit, containing about 
two seeds, as large as the kernel of a hazel-nut. It is now found in a 
state of cultivation all over the hottest part of the tropics. It was 
unknown until the discovery of America, and every region in the old 
world where it is now grown owes it to Brazil ; so that we have in 
this plant a further example of the rapidity with which vegetables 
will take possession of soils where the climate is suitable, for it is 



THE GROUND-NUT. 



401 



grown very generally in different parts of Africa, in India, the West 
India Islands, and the United States. For the purposes of commerce, 
it is principally raised on the West Coast of Africa, in different 
quarters, from Senegal to Sierra Leone and the Gambia. Marseilles is 
the chief port to which they are shipped, and the following have been 
the imports. 

The following shows the imports of ground-nuts into Marseilles in 
the last twenty years in metrical quintals : 



Year. 


In Shell. 


Year. 


In Shell. 


1855 


225,290 
270,746 


1866 


298,170 


1856 


1867 


403,020 


1857 


260,425 


1868 


423,370 


1858 


250,245 


1869 


329,070 


1859 


211,700 


1870 


417,650 


1860 


216,570 


1871 


419,120 
435,890 


1861 


175,390 


1872 


1862 


281,430 


1873 


445,760 


1863 


237,460 


1874 


624,650 
559,430 


1864 


277,700 


1875 


1865 


321,890 





Besides this quantity, 50,000 to 60,000 metrical quintals are imported 
shelled or husked. The imports of shelled nuts in 1875 were 64,000 
metrical quintals. 

Commencing with an export in 1837 of 671 tons, valued at 8053Z., 
the average annual shipment of ground-nuts from the Gambia between 
1850 and 1860 was 11,196^ tons. In some years, as in 1871, it reached 
nearly 17,000 tons. The average of the four years ending 1873 was 
13,748 tons per annum. The bulk is sent to France. 

The ground-nut is principally cultivated down the borders of the 
river, and in British territory by the Serrawoolies. They are a nomadic 
tribe of Mohammedan farmers of the Senegambia ; they leave their 
wives and children far up the country, and wander to the seaboard in 
search of fallow ground, to be left again as soon as the crops have 
worn out the soil. The native has unfortunately introduced, of late 
years, the pernicious system of beating, or threshing, instead of 
picking by hand, whereby the nuts are mixed with leaves, stalks, 
stones, and other extraneous substances, causing large deductions in 
the French market, and depreciating their value in the United States 
as an article of food, or, better to be described, as a favourite dessert for 
the tables of the rich in the latter country. The resident native, the 
Jolloffe, or the liberated African, surrounded by his Lares and Penates, 
in the shape of women, children, and domestic servants, or slaves, 
tal^es his time to pick the nuts, saving the haulm for the Bathurst 
market, where it meets with a ready sale as fodder for horses ; but 
the Serrawoolie, who is anxious for quick returns, has not the time, 
and certainly not the energy, to pick two acres of ground-nuts 
between December and May, land which he can easily dress, work, 
and sow in June and November, hence he loses the fodder, but 
brings a larger quantity of nuts to the market. 



402 



THE GROUND-NUT. 



Hancl-slielled nuts may be advantageously used in Europe for eating 
and by confectioners, but those machine-shelled are only fit for oil- 
crushing and cattle-feeding purposes. The oilcake of the nuts when 
pure is highly esteemed for its fattening properties ; horses, cattle, 
pigs, and poultry are very fond of the ground-nut in its natural 
state. A heaped imperial bushel of the nuts weighs from 25 lbs. to 
32 lbs. Divested of their shell (1 per cent, of the weight) the kernels 
furnish as much as 45 to 50 per cent, of oil. 

Owing to disturbances, the quantity exported from the Gambia fell 
off somewhat in 1872, the shipments being 13,000 tons, valued at 
140,000Z., or 40Z. per ton; the trade employs 15,000 tons of shipping 
from Bathurst. 

The exports from the Gambia have been as follows : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1858 


15,729 tons 


£ 

188,747 


1859 


8,593 „ 


68,745 


1860 


9,951 „ 


79,612 


1864 


635,206 bushels 


79,431 


1865 


754,451 „ 


94,306 


1866 


1,809,097 „ 


130,910 


1867 


1,530,573 „ 


191,322 
161,117 


1868 


1,288,937 „ 


1869 


741,756 „ 


83,447 


1870 


13,481 tons 


121,329 


1871 


17,000 „ 




1872 


13,000 „ 


140V000 



Our direct imports of ground-nuts from Sierra Leone, which used 
to average about 1000 tons annually, have ceased altogether, as they 
go now entirely to France. The exports from that colony were, in : 



Year. j Quantity. | Value. 



£ 

14,449 
25,576 
34,514 
35,170 
28,840 
46,945 
57,221 
60,635 

95,605 



Besides the great value of its seeds for oil, this is also a good fodder 
herb. The plant is a very productive one, and yields a quick return. 
A light, somewhat calcareous, soil is best fitted for its growth. On 
such soil 50 bushels may be obtained from the acre. In tropical 
countries half a ton weight of seeds or nuts is obtained. 

The oil is used for alimentary purposes, and for cloth-dressing, but 





bushels. 


1858 


147,750 


1859 


262,846 


1860 


471,509 


1863 


333,178 


1866 


218,845 


1867 


398,272 


1868 


547,528 


1869 


1870 


( 713','524 

\ and 350 tons 



THE GROUND-NUT. 



403 



its chief use is for the manufacture of soap, and for lubricating 
machinery. As a lamp oil it burns longer than olive oil, although its 
illuminating power is less. Compared with ordinary burning oils its 
power is feeble. It has the advantage, however, of keeping a long 
time without becoming rancid. 

Under favourable circumstances, the nuts will produce half their 
weight of oil, and the quantity is much increased by heat and pres- 
sure. In India the mean yield of oil is only 37 per cent, at Pondi- 
cherry, and 43 per cent, in Madras. In Europe it is usually found 
that a bushel of ground-nuts produces one gallon of oil when ex- 
pressed cold ; if heat be applied a larger quantity is obtained, but of 
inferior quality. 

In Brazil this seed is known under the name of " amendoum," and 
has long been used there parched for food and to extract oil from. 
The oil is used for cooking, medicinally for rheumatic affections, and 
for lighting. It is sometimes called pindar nut. 

The roasted seeds are sometimes used as a substitute for chocolate ; 
according to Dr. Davey, they abound with starch, as well as oil, a 
large proportion of albuminous matter, and in no other instance 
had he found so great a quantity of starch mixed with oil. 

Dr. Muter, after giving the following analysis of ground-nut meal, 
urges its more general use as an important article of food : 



Moisture 9-6 

Fatty matter 11-8 

Nitrogenous compounds (flesh formers) , . 31*9 

Sugar, starch, &c 37 • 8 

Fibre 4-3 

Ash 4-6 

Total 100-0 



From this analysis it is evident (he observes) that the residue from 
them, after the expression of the oil, far exceeds that of peas, and 
is even richer than lentils in flesh-forming constituents, while it con- 
tains more fat and more phosphoric acid than either of them. On 
these grounds we are justified in urging the adoption of the ground- 
nut meal as a source of food, it being superior in richness of all 
important constituents to any other vegetable products of a similar 
nature. Although in the raw state it possesses a somewhat harsh 
odour, similar to that of lentils, this flavour entirely passes off in 
cooking, and when properly prepared it has a very agreeable flavour. 

This seed is held in such estimation for eating in the United 
States (where it is known as the " pea nut "), that flourishing sale- 
stands are seen at almost every street corner of New York. They 
are not much appreciated in England, except by children. 

There are fully 550,000 bushels sold annually in the city of New 
York alone. Previous to 1860 the product in the United States did 
not amount to more than 150,000 bushels, and of this total nearly 
five-sixths were from North Carolina. Formerly it was largely im- 
ported into America, now they are supplied by the home crops raised 
in Virginia and the Carolinas. 

It was estimated that Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Carolina 

2 D 2 



COTTON-SEED OIL. 



sent conjointly over 1,000,000 bushels to market in 1870, of which 
one-fourth went to New York. As much as 10s. to 12s. is paid for the 
bushel. The yield is from 80 to 120 bushels on an acre. 

The ground-nut is now cultivated on a large scale in India, where 
the seeds form a considerable article of commerce, and there is also a 
quantity of the oil exported. 

From Pondicherry there was exported in 1858, 8155 sacks ; in 
1859, 3269 sacks ; and in 1860, 4739 sacks of ground-nuts ; and 
of the oil, 45,634 veltes (of 1-64 galls.) in 1858; 72,369 veltes in 
1859 ; and 99,330 veltes in 1860. 

Ground-nut oil is used in parts of India for alimentary purposes ; 
in some countries it is sold for olive oil ; in North Arcot it serves to 
adulterate gingely or sesame oil, and at Pondicherry it is mixed with 
cocoanut oil. 

At Mozambique the ground-nut is also largely grown, the price of 
the oil made from it there is 15 francs the decalitre. From Senegal 
there were exported to France in 1874, 11,483,080 kilos, of ground- 
nuts, valued at 3,789,416 francs; besides 33,792 kilos, to foreign 
countries, and 1,333,556 kilos, unshelled. ' 

Senegal and its dependencies, which exported in 1840 but 1210 
kilos, of ground-nuts, now produce more than 12,000,000 kilos. 
Cayor and Casamance furnish the largest quantities ; but some 
cargoes are also sent from Galam, which are more esteemed than from 
the other localities, on account of the thinness of the husk or shell 
and the superior yield of oil. It is one of the principal resources of 
the country, and the production is annually more and more extended, 
notwithstanding the impediments which the Moors throw in the way 
of its traffic, under the dread that their gums might be neglected. 
The principal market for Senegal proper is the large village of Gan- 
diole. About Goree, the centre of supply is Eufisque ; lower down 
Sedhiou and Carabane in Casamance, and Albreda, on the Gambia. 
At the Gaboon, where the population is thinly scattered, and little 
agricultural, all that is produced is locally consumed. 

According to Dumas, it was a Marseilles house that first thought of 
introducing this substitute for olive oil. They commenced by experi- 
menting with a few kilos., and now the imports into France exceed 
55,000 tons, of an oil-seed unknown to commerce forty years pre- 
viously. 

CoTTON-SEED OiL has been produced in Egypt, France, England, 
and the United States ; but until lately not on a very large scale, or 
for commercial purposes. Each pound of ginned cotton produced 
yields 3 lbs. of seed ; the total amount in the United States^ is 
3,600,000,000 lbs. One half being retained for planting, there re- 
main 1,800,000,000 lbs. which might be manufactured. One hundred 
pounds of cotton seed will yield 2 gallons of oil, 48 lbs. of oilcake, 
and 6 lbs. of soap stuff ; the total estimated value of all which is 
upwards of 7,000,000/., very little of which is at present realized. 
The oil possesses excellent lubricating qualities. Soaps of every 
variety are made from it, and in New Orleans it has been used, with 
commendation, as a substitute for olive oil. 



CASTOR OIL SEED. 



405 



Numerous factories for the local manufacture of oil from cotton 
seed are now at work in the South, and a ready sale is found for the 
oilcake in the Northern States and in Europe, the product being 
of much value in feeding stock. The oil is one of the most useful 
of the vegetable oils, and brings, in New York, from 18d. to 20c?. 
per gallon. The total production of cotton seed in the Southern 
States is about 2,230,000 tons, of which nearly one-third is produced 
in the valley of the Mississippi. The market price for the seed is 
^12 to ^13 per ton. 

Cotton seed is becoming one of the principal articles of export 
from Egypt. It has gradually risen from 1090 cwts. in 1860 to 
3,490,080 cwts. in 1873, of the value of 770,000/. England takes 
nearly all of this. 

Mr. McLagan, in the ' Edinburgh Quarterly Journal of Agriculture' 
for July, 1854, gave some interesting details respecting the feeding 
properties of the oilcake from cotton seed. Cattle do not take to it at 
first, but eventually get to like it and thrive upon it. 

About 27 imperial stones of cake are obtained from 4 cwts. of seed. 

The following figures show the quantity of cotton seed we have 
imported of late years. This seed was not separately enumerated 
before 1861 : 





Tons. 




Tons. 


1861 .. 


. ,. 20,034 


1869 .. . 


. ,, 105,646 


1862 


. 33,162 


1870 ., , 


120,304 


1863 , 


62,159 


1871 


172,163 


1864 


84,642 


1872 . . . 


167,904 


18G5 , 


114,851 


1873 ,, 


, .. 207,038 


1866 .. , 


93,957 


1874 . , . 


190,591 


1867 . , 


93,643 


1875 , 


202,205 


1868 




1876 . , . 


. .. 230,284 



Oil-seed Cake. — The oilcakes imported are all classed together; 
there is, however, a large home trade in those resulting from the 
British crushing mills. The marcs or cakes include ground-nut cake, 
palm-nut cake, linseed cake, cotton-seed cake, and cocoanut cake, 
used for cattle food ; and mustard, rape, castor oil, and undecorti- 
cated cotton-seed cake used for manure. 

The following shows the progress of our imports of foreign oil-seed 
cakes : 

Tons. Tons. 

1840 71,039 1870 158,453 

1850 .. .. 65,145 1875 180,379 

1860 108,826 1876 190,225 

The Castor Oil Plant (Bicinus communis). — Although a native 
of India, this shrub is now widely distributed and cultivated in 
various parts of the world. In its native country it is a perennial, 
15 or 20 feet high, with a thick stem. In cold climates it becomes an 
annual, There are many instances of perennial plants becoming 
annuals by change of climate. 

The rapid growth of the plant is illustrated by an instance reported 
in Tennessee. A castor bean was planted in May, 1871, in a garden 
in Memphis, and in November it had grown to the height of 23 feet, 



406 



CASTOR OIL SEED. 



with a spread of foliage 15 feet in diameter. Tlie trunk, 10 inches 
above the ground, was 18 inches in circumference. 

There are many varieties of this plant, but they are generally 
believed to be derived from a single species. The most notable are, 
Ricinus sanguineus, the stem, leaf stalks, young leaves, and fruit of 
which are of a blood-red colour ; B. Borhoniensis, which in southern 
climates attains a great height ; and B. giganteus. 

The following varieties may be enumerated, although described by 
some as species : 

1. Ricinus communis, Lin., the most widely diffused, with glaucous- 

purple stems. 

2. R. inermis, Jacq., a native of India, 

3. R. viridis, Willd., also an Indian species. 

4. R. lividus, Jacq,, Cape of Good Hope. 

5. R. integrifolius, Willd., Mauritius. 

6. R. speciosus, Willd., Java. 

7. R. apelta, Lour. {Rottlera cantoniensis\ China. 

8. R. mappa, Lin. (^Mappa moluccand), Amboyna. 

9. R. tanarius Linn. (^Mappa tanaria), Amboyna. 

10. R. armatus, or communis, Andrw. Malta. 

11. R. dioicus, FoTster (Mappa tanensis), islands of Southern Seas. 

12. R. tunisensis, Desfont, Algeria. 

The castor oil plant has been known from the remotest ages. 
Caillard found the seeds of it in some Egyptian sarcophagi, supposed 
to have been at least four thousand years old. Some people imagine 
it to be the same plant that is called the gourd in Scripture. It 
was called aporave by the Greeks, and ricinus by the Eomans; in 
Hebrew, kikajon, and called by Pliny cici or kiki. It is singular 
that the oil expressed from the seeds of the cici should have been used 
by the ancients, including the Jews, as One of their pleasantest oils 
for burning and for several domestic uses, though its medicinal virtues 
were unknown. The modern Jews of London use this oil by the 
name of oil of kiki for their Sabbath lamps, it being one of the five 
kinds of oil their traditions allow them to burn on such occasions. 
The seeds are oval, somewhat compressed, about 4 or 5 lines long, 
3 lines broad, and 1^ line thick ; externally they are pale grey, but 
marbled with yellowish-brown spots and stripes. 

The oil is obtained from the seed by expression, by boiling with 
water, or by the agency of alcohol. Nearly all that is consumed in 
England is obtained by expression. When the outer skin is first 
removed by rollers, previous to crushing and heating them, a clear 
and fine oil is produced, the outer cuticle being applicable for manu- 
facturing and other purposes. By this process the thicker portion, or 
stearine, which is now lost (by being mixed and left with the outer skin 
or cuticle), is obtained, and the oleaginous or thin portion of the oil is 
not coloured and deteriorated. The oil thus obtained can be purified 
by jets of gas, acids, and heat, at about 150° to 160°. 

Official returns state that 24,145 acres imder culture in the State 
of Kansas in 1875 produced 361,386 bushels of seed. 

In Iowa it is found a profitable crop, the yield being 15 to 
25 bushels of seed per acre, w^orth to ^3 per bushel. 

In America, the seeds, cleansed from the dust and fragments of the 



CASTOJi OIL SEED. 



407 



capsules, are submitted to a gentle heat, not greater than can be borne 
by the hand, which is intended to render the oil more fluid, and 
therefore more easily expressed. The whitish oily liquid thus ob- 
tained is boiled with a large quantity of water, and the impurities 
skimmed off as they rise to the surface. The water dissolves the 
mucilage and starch, and the albumen is coagulated by the heat, 
forming a layer between the oil and water. The clear oil is now 
removed, and boiled with a very small quantity of water, until 
aqueous vapour ceases to rise, and a small portion of the oil taken out 
in a phial remains perfectly transparent when cold. The effect of 
this operation is to clarify the oil, and to get rid. of the volatile acid 
matter. Great care is necessary not to'carry the heat too far, as the 
oil would thus acquire a brownish colour and acid taste. 

In the West Indies the oil is obtained by decoction, but none of it 
appears in commerce in this country. 

In Calcutta it is thus prepared : The fruit is shelled by women ; 
the seeds are crushed between rollers, then placed in hempen cloths, 
and pressed in the ordinary screw or hydraulic press. The oil thus 
obtained is afterwards heated with water in a tin boiler until the 
water boils, by which means the mucilage and albumen are separated. 
The oil is then strained through flannel and put into canisters. 

Two principal kinds of castor seeds are known, the large and the 
small ; the latter yields the most oil. The best East Indian castor 
oil is sold in London as "cold drawn." In some parts of Europe 
castor oil has been extracted from the seeds by alcohol, but the 
process is more expensive, and yields an inferior article. 

Castor oil is a viscid oil, generally of a pale yellow colour, a 
nauseous smell and taste. Its specific gravity, according to Saussure, 
is 0*969 at 53° Fah. The acid taste which it sometimes possesses 
may be removed by magnesia (Gerhardt). At about 6° Fah. it 
forms a yellow, solid, transparent mass. By exposure to the air, it 
becomes rancid, thick, and at last dries up, forming a transparent 
varnish. It dissolves easily in its own volume of absolute alcohol ; 
castor oil and alcohol exercise a mutual solvent power on each other. 
It is also soluble in ether. 

There are chiefly three sorts of castor oil found in the London 
market ; viz. the oil expressed in London from imported seeds, East 
Indian oil, and the American or United States castor oil. Castor oil 
is imported in tins, barrels, hogsheads, and duppers. It is purified 
by decantation and filtration, and bleached by exposure to sunlight. 

It is not quite decided how many kinds of fats castor oil contains ; 
according to Gerhardt several, but Saalmuller says only two. It is, 
however, principally composed of ricinoleine, with perhaps a little 
stearine and palmatine, and an acid resin. Its ultimate composition 
is shown by the following comparative analyses : 



Carbon 
Hydrogen 
Oxygen . 



74-00 
10-29 
15-71 



74-18 
11-03 
14-79 



74-35 
11-35 
14-30 



Total 



100-00 



100-00 



100-00 



408 



RAPE SEED. 



Castor oil seed is grown over the whole of the North-West Pro- 
vinces ; it is not of a very good quality, the yield of oil being gene- 
rally inferior to the coast seed of Coconada and that of Colgong. 
The Dessie supplies the largest quantity. 

The castor oil plant is extensively cultivated all over India. The 
plant is cultivated at Lucknow as a mixed crop. It is sown in June 
by almost all the villagers, not extensively, but principally for their 
own use. Its cultivation can be extended all over Oude. The oil 
is extracted by bruising the seed and then boiling it in water ; the oil 
is afterwards skimmed off. This is the only seed out of which the oil 
is extracted by boiling, as in this case it is found cheaper than the 
method used for other seeds, which is by pressure. The cost of the 
seed is one rupee per maund, and the price of the oil from two to 
five seers per rupee, according to the abundance of the crop in the 
season. The proportion of the oil yielded is about half the weight 
of the seeds boiled ; it is only used for burning. 

In Cuttack the plant is grown all over the province, a good deal in 
patches of newly-cleared land, in the jungles of the Tributary States 
and Sumbulpore. The oil is used for burning and culinary purposes, 
and also medicinally. Both the native methods of extracting oil are 
wasteful and tedious, and therefore expensive. European oil-presses, 
and a knowledge of some methods of clarifying the expressed oil, seem 
only to be required to render the oil-seed crops of this extensive 
division of great value. There are 67,000 acres under castor oil 
in the Madras Presidency, chiefly in Coimbatore. 5230 sacks of 
castor oil seed, and 111,790 veltes of castor oil, were imported into 
Pondicherry in 1867. 

In a report on the industrial employment of castor oil, by M. 
Dareste, published in the third volume of the Bulletin of the Acclima- 
tization Society of Paris, p. 349, he states that from the documents he 
had collected he found that a hectare under castor oil yielded 1800 
kilogrammes. The average yield from oil-palms in intertropical 
regions was only 900 kilogrammes per hectare, and that of olives in 
the south of Europe but 600 kilogrammes. From subsequent re- 
searches he considers that the yield of oil from the castor oil plant 
would be even more, as he calculated the yield at 0*52 per cent., while 
subsequent trials proved that 0*62 to 0*64 could be obtained, diffe- 
rences which result from the mode of extraction employed. 

Castor oil is said to be adulterated sometimes with croton oil, to 
increase its activity ; this is a dangerous sophistication. It is also 
mixed with some cheap fixed oils. 

Rape Seed. — From the seeds of Brassica camjpestris, Brassica napiis 
{Najpa oleifera, Spenn.), annua and biennis, and other species, all 
natives of Europe, is expressed the colza, or rape oil. The plants 
are extensively cultivated in the manner usually adopted in the cul- 
ture of turnips, and raised solely for their value as an oil-yielding 
plant. The seeds are perfected the second year of their growth. 
The oil is extensively used for machinery and for burning in lamps. 
The refuse cake is a well-known cattle food. 

The seed is sown broadcast, in the month of July, upon well- 



'rape seed. 



409 



manured ground, and if possible during wet weather. This is the 
seed-bed for the future plant. It should be sown as turnip or cabbage 
seed is sown, when it is intended to transplant the young plants. In 
the months of September, October, and November, the plants are 
taken from the seed-bed, and transplanted for the future crop. The 
field is richly manured with farmyard dung, spread broadcast on the 
land, and ploughed in. The previous crop is usually wheat. 

The plants are then set out in rows about 2 feet distant from 
each other, and each plant 18 inches apart. In good soil, as, for 
instance, land partly broken up from old pasture, or from wood, the 
crop will be much heavier, and ripen more equally, if planted at a 
greater distance. It is usually planted in every alternate furrow, 
but the manure plough is expressly constructed for breadth of furrow. 
The plant is exceedingly robust, and soon recovers itself after trans- 
planting. It thus remains permanently planted out until the month 
of February, when the horse-hoe is set to work to pulverize the soil 
after the frosts. Good careful farmers then add some artificial 
manure to encourage the growth of the plant. The manure generally 
employed is guano or rape dust, and the rape cake, which proceeds 
from the manufacture of the oil. Eape cake, indeed, is one of the 
very best stimulants that the plant can receive. After this spring 
manuring, the double mould-board plough passes between the drills, 
so as to throw the earth well up to the stalks of the plants. 

There is another method, which is, to sow as the Scotch farmers do 
turnips. Sow in drills (manure in the drills), apply guano or bone 
dust, or rape dust in spring, and in damp weather. 

Do not transplant at all, but thin out, and cultivate as for Swede 
turnip seed. I believe the crop would be as heavy, and the expense 
diminished one half, especially when labour is dear or scarce. The 
after management of the colza seed is not difficult, but requires 
attention. The seed, when fresh harvested, is apt to sweat and heat. 
For this reason, careful farmers who wish to preserve the colour and 
strength of the sample, generally stow the seed away with a sufficient 
quantity of the seed-pod or husk. These substances mixed through 
the heap, prevent its taking heat. The bulk must, nevertheless, be 
repeatedly turned over, and the granary kept aired. The yield of 
oil, which is the ultimate and real test of the value of the crop, 
varies exceedingly. This variation is not so much to be attributed 
to the variety of grain as to the nature of the soil, the geniality of 
the season, and the care bestowed on the culture of the plant. 

Nothing more is done till harvest, which occurs towards the 
middle of J uly. The chief enemy of the rape-seed crop is hail ; the 
heavy rains of July are also often prejudicial. As soon as the 
straw and seed-pod become yellow, the crop is ready to cut. This 
is done by the sickle, and the reapers place the crop as it is cut 
across the ridges, so as to leave the air to circulate as much as 
possible. In from six to ten days the crop is ready for the flail. It 
is a seed that sheds itself with great ease, and must be handled 
tenderly, or much seed will be lost. The crop is threshed in the field, 
A large space is cleared, and a sail-cloth spread on the ground. A 
light species of hand-barrow or cradle is constructed, and lined with 



410 



EAPE SEED. 



canvas. It is carried by two persons across the field, and they gather 
up the sheaves, which, as lightly as possible, they deposit in the 
cradle or hand-crib. When they arrive at the threshing place, they 
simply overturn the cradle and leave the sheaves on the floor. 

The least possible stroke of the flail suffices to dislodge the seed. 
After threshing, the grain requires to be constantly turned in the 
store, or it will speedily heat, and consume the strength of the oil. 
The produce of an excellent crojp is half a French bushel, or 25 French 
quarts (litres), to every perch of 24 square feet. In round numbers, 
the yield of the crop may be estimated at 25 bushels to the acre, 
and it often exceeds this. The profit is so very considerable, that 
for many years it was estimated that the Norman farmers paid rent 
and expenses from the rape-seed crop alone. The land rent may 
be averaged at 1 franc the perch, or 70 francs the acre, which 
includes all rates and taxes. 

If the plant be cultivated too often upon the same soil, without 
adequate change of rotation, it will, as is often the case with clover, 
degenerate rapidly, and produce an inadequate return. A crop which 
stands well and thick on the land will not always turn out to be the 
best oil-hearing crop. The average is, that it requires 4 hectolitres, 
or 400 French quarts of seed, to give 200 lbs. of oil in the rough. 
The expressing the oil, facilities for purchase of steam fuel, or water 
power, and the chemical processes connected with rectification, are all 
elements of the expenditure. It is generally believed that the English 
market can be more readily and cheaply supplied by purchasing the 
grain in France, and crushing and refining in England, than by buying 
the article ready-made for use in France. 

Colza culture extends through the regions of the north-west and 
the plains of the north, but is little known in the south and the 
mountains of the centre. 

The production of colza has declined in France, owing to the more 
extensive employment of mineral oils. While there were in culture 
in France more than 300,000 hectares under oil-seeds in 1862, in 
1871 there were only 226,667 hectares, which produced 3,198,398 
hectolitres of seed. Seven-tenths of this were colza. Deducting 17,110 
hectolitres used for sowing, there remained 3,181,288 hectolitres to 
be converted into oil. As one hectolitre of seed yields on the average 
23 -89 kilos, of oil and 38*11 of cake, this gives a total production of 
759,348 cwts. of oil, of a value of 83,319,538 francs, and for the oil-cake 
1,212,291 cwts., worth 19,593,080 francs, together 102,912,618 francs. 
The departments where this oil-seed is principally grown are Pas de 
Calais, Calvados, Seine Inferieure, Nord, Somme, Saone et Loire, and 
Eure. 

The current prices of rape seed in the London market in the 
beginning of 1877 were, for Calcutta brown, 59s. Qd. to 60s. per 
quarter, and for Ferozepore, 59s. 

Imports of rape seed into the United Kingdom : 



1840 
1850 
1860 



Quarters. 

81,745 
107,029 
269,403 



1870 
1875 



Quarters. 

551,107 
496,541 



MUSTARD SEED. 



411 



The following figures give the production of oil and oil-seeds in 
France at two periods. In 1870 there were 644,688 hectares under 
culture with oil-seeds. 





1852, 


1862. 


Oil-seeds — 

Colza, poppy, cameline,^ 

Linseed .. 


hectolitres. 

O KOK AAA 

o,5zo,UUU 

543,000 
920,000 


hectolitres. 

854,563 
922,390 


Oils— 
Olive 


1,422,000 
246,000 
144,000 


828,855 
399,155 



Mustard Seed. — A number of species of this family are cultivated 
for their seeds in Europe, north Africa, and northern and middle 
Asia. By some the plants are referred to Brassica ; others continue 
them under Sinapis. The seeds of white mustard (Sinapis alba, Linn.) 
are less pungent than those of the black mustard (S. nigra), but are 
used in a similar manner. Dr. Masters enumerates S. chinensis, 
S. dichotoma, S. PeMnensis, S. ramosa, S. glauca, and S. Juncea among 
the mustards which undergo cultivation in various parts of Asia, 
either for the fixed oil of their seeds or for their herbage. From 
15 lbs. to 20 lbs. of seeds of the white mustard are required for an 
acre. In the climate of California 1400 lbs. of seeds have been 
gathered from an acre. In China an oil is expressed from Brassica 
sinensis in increasing quantities all through the valleys of the Yang-tze 
and Han rivers. 

Very primitive machinery is used for the purpose. The seeds are 
crushed, steamed, and put into wooden cylinders, usually made by 
hollowing out the trunks of trees. The oil is squeezed out of the 
mass, placed in coarse bags, by means of wedges forced down by 
mallets, or by an arrangement similar to that by means of which piles 
are generally driven into the earth. In the last case water power is 
sometimes employed. The oil is of a dark yellow colour, thick, and 
has a pleasant odour. It is used for lamps, in cooking, and as a 
hair oil. 

The seeds of S. nigra and S. alba, simply crushed and then sifted, 
constitute the mustard of commerce. The mixture is commonly two 
parts of black and three of white mustard flour, but the proportions 
used by different manufacturers vary. For medicinal use the black 
seeds are preferable for sinapism and other purposes. In rich soils 
this plant is very prolific. The chemical constituents are a peculiar 
acrid fixed oil, crystalline sinapin, the fatty sinapisin, myron-acid, 
and myrosin. 

There are two sorts of mustard : the white mustard, which is grown 
for oilcake for sheep feed, and for green manure to be ploughed in for 
wheat ; and the brown mustard, which is chiefly grown for use as a table 
condiment. On the marshy and wild coast soils of east England it is 



412 



SESAME SEED. 



common to take tkree or four crops of brown mustard running, and in 
that way to pay for the fee simple of the land (from 601. to lOOZ. an 
acre), when the opportunity is presented. The tillage required is next 
to nothing ; a shallow furrow is ploughed, the seed is sown broad- 
cast, a bushel of seed an acre, in April, and is ready for harvesting in 
June or July. The land is generally sufficiently seeded to produce 
another crop ; which may, perhaps, be gathered in the autumn of the 
same year. In England brown mustard often fetches from 15s. to 1/. a 
bushel, and 40 bushels is no uncommon crop. White mustard is less 
remunerative and less speculative. 

Mustard seed is cultivated in many departments of France, and 
especially in the Nord, Pas de Calais, Bas Khin, and the Charente. 
The annual produce is about 650 tons, worth 6000Z. Triturated in 
special mills, mixed with vinegar, and flavoured with some condi- 
ments, it is delivered to the trade ready for the table. The quantity 
produced in France was stated in the Official Catalogue of the Paris 
Exhibition of 1867 at 3000 tons, of the value of 2,000,000 francs. 

Five or six species of Sinapis are cultivated throughout India for 
the sake of their oil, which is much esteemed in the country for 
cooking, for medicine, and for anointing the body, which it is sup- 
posed to invigorate. They are known as sarson seed. Brassica juncea, 
Hooker, Sinapis juncea, Lin., is largely grown in the south of 
Eussia, and in the steppes north-east of the Caspian Sea. Eight 
hundred tons of the seed are used in one factory annually for making 
mustard, and the seeds yield more than 20 per cent, of a fixed 
pleasant oil. 

The imports of colza and ravison seeds into Marseilles have ranged 
from 300,000 to 660,000 cwts. of late years, but they have been 
declining ; in 1875 the quantity was but 214,920 cwts. 

In 1872 there were sent from India to England and France 
1418 tons of mustard seed. 

Safflower Oil. — This is a light yellow clear oil, when properly 
refined or prepared ; it is used in India for culinary and other 
purposes. This oil deserves more attention than it has hitherto 
received in this country ; and, if once fairly introduced, there is no 
doubt whatever of its becoming a staple import. It is used in some 
of the Government workshops as a " drying oil." It is believed to 
constitute the bulk of the celebrated " Macassar oil." The seed is 
exported under the name of Curdee, or safflower seed. The Lucknow 
Exhibition Committee fui-nishes the following note: In Oude it is 
sown in October, either alone, or at the edge of wheat crops ; both 
light and heavy soils are adapted to it. It is cultivated in every 
village, but not extensively. There would be no difficulty in farther 
cultivating it to any extent. The oil is extracted by pressing. The 
cost of the seed, which is called " Barre," is 18 J seers per rupee, and 
the cost of the oil from 3 to 4 seers per rupee. 

Sesame Seed (Sesamim indicum, Dec), frequently called Til, or 
Gingely. This is an erect, pubescent annual herb, from 2 to 4 feet 
high, indigenous to India, but propagated by cultivation throughout 



SESAME SEED. 



413 



the warmer regions of the globe. In Europe it is only grown in 
some districts of Turkey and Greece, and on a small scale in the 
islands of Malta and Gozo. It does not succeed well in the south of 
France. From southern Asia it extends eastward to Japan, and is 
cultivated as far as 42° N. lat. It has a wide range, being grown in 
parts of South and Central America, British Guiana, and the West 
Indies. In the former it is known as ajonjoli, in the West Indies as 
oily seed, and in Demerara as wanglo. When parched and pounded 
the seeds make a rich soup. Children are very fond of the seeds, 
which have a milky flavour. In Egypt they are eaten after being 
baked in an oven and sprinkled over bread and pastry. The residual 
cake, after the oil is extracted, is also eaten kneaded with honey. 

Eenni seed, as it is called in parts of Africa, is extensively used in 
Oriental countries for aromatizing the church bread and for the 
preparation of the renowned Chcdba, which is eaten during fasts by 
all Orientals. It consists of the finely powdered seeds, which are 
mixed with honey, and oftentimes also with sugar. 

The negroes use the seeds for making a sort of beverage, something 
like coffee, by roasting and infusing them in water. 

Til seed is grown in the northern provinces of Siam ; 50,000 cwts. 
were shipped from Bangkok in 1868, and 77,000 cwts., valued at 
183,009Z., in 1870. There are 870,000 acres under culture with this 
oil-seed in the Madras Presidency, chiefly in the Godavery. Three 
varieties of sesame seed are cultivated in India, the white-seeded 
(Suffed-til), the red or parti-coloured (Kala-til), and the black variety 
{Tillee) ; it is the latter which affords the greater proportion of the 
gingely oil of commerce. A second sort of sesame oil, sometimes 
called " rape," is obtained from the red-seeded variety. Black sesame 
is sown in March and ripens in May. Eed sesame is not sown till 
June. The word sesame is said to be derived from simsim, the Arabic 
name of the plant. One of the advantages of the culture of this plant 
consists in its quick return of produce, as it comes to perfection within 
three or four months. Its capsules contain numerous small, flat seeds. 
To collect them, the plant, when mature, is cut down, and stacked in 
heaps for a few days, after which it is exposed to the sun during the 
day, but collected again into heaps at night. By this process the 
capsules gradually ripen and burst, and the seeds fall out. The plant 
is found in several varieties, affording respectively white, yellowish, 
reddish-brown, and black seeds. The dark seeds may be deprived of 
a part of their colouring matter by washing, which is sometimes done 
with a view to obtain a pale oil. The white seeds produced in Sind 
are reported to yield the finest oil. The seeds are largely consumed 
as food both in India and tropical Africa. The island of Formosa 
grows a large quantity — 8700 cwts. were shipped in 1871 — and it is 
also cultivated in Zanzibar and Senegal. From the latter French 
colony 600 cwts. were shipped in 1870. This oil-seed now also 
appears in the markets of Bakel. The yield of oil from the seed 
is about 40 to 50 per cent., and its specific gravity 0-9258. The 
Jaffa sesame seed is all exported to France, as it is much appre- 
ciated there, and considered to be of the best kind on account of its 
making fine oil for eating purposes. It fetches the highest prices 



414 



SESAME SEED. 



of any in the Marseilles market. The exports from Jaffa in 1862 
were 2320 tons. From Syria there were shipped, in 1871, sesame 
seeds of the value of 23,6 lOZ., and from Gallipoli, in the same year, 
945 quarters, valued at 4080Z. From Lagos, West Africa, there are 
now large shipments. The trade in the article only commenced with 
an export of 2^ tons in 1864, but in 1870 had reached 729 tons. The 
seed is there called Benni seed. The chief place for the manufacture 
of sesame oil is Marseilles, and the importance of the trade in it 
may be judged from the receipts at that port, in metrical quintals : 





Year. 


From the Levant. 


From India and 
Africa. 


Total. 






1855 
1865 
1875 


159,703 
60,260 
125,950 


190,512 
259,510 
297,670 


350,215 
319,770 
423,620 




The oilcake made from it in 1875 was 440,000 cwts., the price 
ranging from 11 to 16 francs the cwt. The quantities furnished by 
India alone in the last six years were, in metrical quintals of 2 cwts. : 




Year. 


From Coromandel 
Coast. 


From Bombay and 
Sind. 


From Calcutta. 






1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 


368,000 
258,000 
224,200 
227,100 
276,720 
364,500 


29,100 
30 
1,800 
14,800 
130,900 
312,600 


183,100 
79,000 
4,000 
7,800 
56,200 
50,300 





The following were the ranges of price in 1875 at Marseilles : for 
Jaffa, 43 to 53 francs, brown ; Coromandel, 35 to 40 francs, white ; 
Kurrachee, 37^ to 43 francs ; Bangkok, 35 to 43 francs ; and Mozam- 
bique, 38J to 41i francs. The export of sesame oil in 1875 from 
Marseilles was 2,500,000 kilogrammes, or nearly half of all the seed 
oil shipped. The price ranged during the year from 67 to 80 francs 
for the 100 kilogrammes. The oil first expressed from the seeds is 
available for table use, and may be used for all the purposes of olive 
oil. As its congealing point is some degrees below that of olive oil, 
it is even more fitted for cool climates. The soot of the oil is used for 
making Indian ink. This oil is probably consumed to a greater extent 
than any other by the natives of India, and is second only to cocoanut 
oil in importance as an article of commerce. The residue, or cake, is 
eaten by the poorer classes of India as an article of food, and it is 
greedily devoured by cattle. 

In Eastern Africa the sesame grows everywhere on the coast, and 
extends far into the interior, and is known as simsim. The seed is 
pounded dry in a large mortar ; when the oil begins to appear, a little 
hot water is poured in, and the mass is forcibly squeezed by huge 
pestles ; all that floats is then ladled out into pots and gourds, and 
used for cooking. 



NIGER SEED. 



415 



From Siam there was exported in 1875, 13,193 piculs of teel seed, 
valued at 21,003Z. 

The commercial value of gingely seed in England is about 50s. to 
54s. for white, and 45s. to 48s. for brown. 

Niger Seed. — Another oil-seed which enters into English commerce 
from India for oil-crushing is the small black seed of Guizotia oleifera. 
It is commonly cultivated in Mysore and the Deccan. The oil is 
sweet-tasted, and is used for the same purpose as the gingely oil, 
though an inferior oil. It is the common lamp oil of Upper India, 
and is very cheap. The seed is sown in July or August, after the 
first heavy rains, the fields being simply ploughed, neither weeding 
nor manure being required. In three months from the time of sowing 
the crop is cut, and after being placed in the sun for a few days the 
seeds are threshed out with a stick. The produce is about two 
bushels per acre. It is also called ram-til. It fetches in London 
about 40s. per quarter. 

The following quantities of vegetable oils were made in the United 
States, according to the Census returns for 1870 : 



Oils. 


Quantity. 


Valu.e. 




gallons. 


dollars. 




341,850 


690,700 




6,819,730 


7,239,773 


Cotton -seed 


2,490,883 


1,547,218 


Poppy-seed . . 


125 


375 


Kape-seed 


11,350 


13,870 




tons. 




Cotton oilcake 


6,750 


113,000 



The castor oil made was to the value of 593,000 dollars in 1850, 
and 320,870 dollars in 1860. Cotton-seed oil was only made, in 
1860, to the value of 741,000 dollars. 

Marseilles is the great entrepot for oil-seeds, as the appended table 
proves, the quantities being in metrical quintals of 100 kilos., or 
220 lbs. : 





Year. 


Oil-seeds. 


Yield of Oil. 


Oilcake. 






1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 


1,732,430 
1,675,510 
1,912,330 
2,070,630 
2,228,280 


608,960 
561,890 
617,390 
660,000 
792,240 


1,123,470 
1,113,620 
1,294,940 
1,410,630 
1,436,041 





The progressive increase in the importations of oil-seeds at Mar- 
seilles has been remarkable, as is proved by the quinquennial returns, 
in metrical quintals : 



1855 753,680 

1860 1,093,970 

1865 1,376,770 



1870 1,849,860 

1875 2,228,280 



416 GOLD OF PLEASURE. 

The quantity and value of the various oil-seeds shipped from India 
is shown below : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




cwts. 


£ 


1871 


6,693,482 


3,497,255 


1872 


5,079,009 


2,702,048 


1873 


2,739,792 


1,485,648 


1874 


4,401,994 


2.342,953 


1875 


6,629,939 


3,207,808 



Gold of Pleasure (Camelina sativa, Crantz), an annual herb, is 
cultivated in middle and southern Europe. It is readily grown after 
corn crops, yields richly even on poor soil, and is not attacked by 
aphis. Thirty-two bushels of seed have been obtained from an acre, 
and from these 540 lbs. of oil. The return is obtained within a few 
months. 

The gold of pleasure produces a finer oil for burning than the rape 
or mustard, having a brighter flame, less smoke, and scarcely any 
smell. It succeeds better than any of the other cruciferous oil plants 
on light, shallow, dry soils, and arrives so soon at maturity that in the 
south of Europe it produces two crops in a season. In several of 
the more northerly districts of the Continent, as the north of France, 
Germany, and Holland, although it will not produce two crops in the 
season, it is found very useful for sowing in June or the beginning of 
July, when other crops may have failed ; and when sown in the early 
part of the season, it can be removed in time to be succeeded by 
turnips, grass seeds, &c. Besides the use of its seeds for oil, the 
stems yield a coarse fibre for making sacks, sail-cloth, &c., and being 
small, hard, and durable, are used for thatching temporary erections, 
and also for making coarse packing paper. 

The seed may be sown in shallow drills, 10 inches apart, by the 
old-fashioned plan of a quart bottle with a quill through the cork, 
and will be ready for the sickle some three months after sowing; 
the retmm of an average crop may be estimated as 300 to 1. The 
Camelina is understood to be a non-exhauster of the soil, used as a 
rotation crop, enabling old land to recover itself in some measure ; it 
prefers soil of a light sandy nature, and is very hardy, enduring 
both drought and wet. Its usefulness consists in its quality for 
fattening stock of any kind. Two tablespoonfuls of the seed boiled 
in a quart of water will produce about the same quantity of thick 
jelly ; and this mixed with a sufficient quantity and bulk of food will, 
it is considered, fatten the largest ox in a short time ; the chaff which 
is left, after threshing out the seed, is readily eaten by horses. 

In some countries this plant is cultivated both for its stems, which 
yield a fibre applicable for spinning, and for its oleiferous seeds, 
especially in Flanders. Although the soils best adapted for its culture 
are those of a light nature, a crop will never fail on land of the most 
inferior description. It is usually sown in spring in March or April, 



SUNFLOWER- SEED OIL. 



417 



aud in the autumn about August. The quantity of seed required per 
acre is 14 lbs. It may be either drilled or broadcast ; if drilled, the 
rows must be one foot apart. If sown early, two crops may frequently 
be obtained in one year, as it is fit for harvesting in three months after 
the plant makes its first appearance. The seed is ripe as soon as the 
pods change from a green to a golden colour. Care must then be 
taken to cut it before it becomes too ripe, or much seed will be lost. 

When cut with a sickle, it is bound up in sheaves and stacked in 
the same manner as wheat. It is then put into a barn, and threshed 
out like other corn. The oil is useful for burning in lamps, for 
dressing woollen goods, the manufactui'e of soap, lubricating machi- 
nery, and for painters. It is said also to be beneficial in asthma. 

SuxFLOWER-SEED OiL (HeliantJius annuiis). — The highly ornamental 
and extensive genus of plants to which this belongs derives its scien- 
tific name from Jielios, sun, and antlios, a flower, on account of the 
brilliant colour of the flower, and from the erroneous idea, pro- 
pagated by poets and others, that the flowers always turned towards 
the sun ; hence, also, the French name tournesol. It appears to possess 
far more profitable qualities than have been hitherto supposed, and may 
be cultivated with advantage and applied to many useful purposes. 
The gi'eat variety of valuable properties belonging to the sunflower 
seed has been more neglected than any other, when it ought to be paid 
greater attention to. No plant produces such fine honey and wax, 
and when the flower is in blossom bees abound on it. A few years 
ago one or two farmers cleared nearly 40Z. by their honey alone. The 
produce will be according to the nature of the soil and mode of 
cultivation. 

The sunflower has been long largely grown in parts of Eussia for 
its oil, and the German farmers have lately taken uj) the cultivation. 
The plant grows readily in most climates. From the stalks of the 
plant the Kussians manufactiu*e a valuable potash, and the residue, 
after extracting the oil, is used for feeding cattle, made into oilcake. 
The leaves go to manure the soil. 

The quantity of seed is much increased by dwarfing the plants; 
the best manure is said to be old mortar broken up. The plants 
should be kept clear and free from weeds; the quantity of seed 
required is about 6 lbs. per acre. They should have sufficient 
interval between them for exposure to the sun, as under such circum- 
stances they become larger and more fully stored with seed. The oil 
extracted from the seed is said to be superior to both almond and 
olive oil for table use, and for use in woollen factories, making soap, 
and candles, and for lighting purposes. The leaves have been manu- 
factured into cigars, possessing, it is stated, pectoral properties which 
might prove more efficacious than stramonium. The blossoms furnish 
a brilliant yellow dye which stands well. 

The marc, or refuse of 50 bushels of seed, after the oil has been 
expressed, made into cakes, will produce 1500 lbs., and the stalks, 
when burnt for alkali, will give 10 per cent, of potash. The green 
leaves of the sunflower, when dried and burnt to powder, make ex- 

2 E 



418 



SUNFLOWER-SEED OIL. 



cellent fodder for milcli cows, mixed with bran. Sir Allen Crockden, 
of Seal Grove, by Sevenoaks, for many years cultivated the sun- 
flower, for the purpose of feeding his stock. The oil makes most 
beautiful soap, particularly softening to the hands and face, and is 
most delightful to shave with. The cake is superior to linseed for 
fattening cattle. Sheep, pigs, pigeons, rabbits, poultry of all sorts, 
&c., will fatten rapidly upon it, and prefer the seed to any other ; 
pheasants in particular, causing them to have a much more glossy 
plumage and to be plumper in the body. It increases the quantity of 
eggs from poultry fed with it. The seed, shelled, makes when 
ground very fine flour for bread, particularly tea-cakes. It will grow 
in any corner that may be vacant, and make all farms have a most 
agreeable garden-like appearance. It should be planted six inches 
apart, and about one inch deep, and when one foot high may be 
earthed up ; it then will require no further attention. Every single 
plant will produce 1000 or more seeds ; the main head generally pro- 
duces 800 to 1000 seeds, and there are usually four collaterals, 
producing 50 to 60 seeds each. But it is not the seed only that is 
so valuable, the stalk is useful also ; for by treating it exactly like 
flax, it will produce a fibre as fine as silk, and in large quantities. 
Now that rags have become so scarce, arising from the very un- 
precedented demand for paper, the stalk might be used for paper 
making. On some grounds two crops may be growing at the same 
time ; when the farmer has given his early potatoes a last hoeing, 
he can plant his seed 12 inches apart in the ridges. The Chinese 
have it by thousands of tons, and worship it. There can be no 
doubt that many of their silk goods have a large portion of sun- 
flower fibre in them. According to Boussingault, some experiments 
made by M. Gauzac of Dagny gave the produce per acre' of seed at 
15 cwts. 3 qrs. 14 lbs. ; the oil per acre, 275 lbs., being 15 per. cent., 
and the cake 80 per cent. Next to poppy-seed oil, sunflower oil burns 
the longest of any in equal quantities. The seeds vary in colour, 
being either white, grey, striped, or black. From them is expressed a 
palatable, clear, and flavourless oil, the demand for which in Russia is 
very great. It is exported from St. Petersburg at about 10s. 6d. the 
cwt., and is said to be extensively used, like cotton-seed oil, after 
purifying, for adulterating olive or salad oil. In Russia a consider- 
able quantity is grown for oil pressing. The plant is largely culti- 
vated in Kiels, and Podolia, eastward on the black soil lands ; the 
stalks are used for fuel. The manufacture of the oil, which was 
formerly confined to the government of Voroneje, has recently been 
carried on in that of Saratov, and in the town of that name there 
were in 1867 at least 30 oil presses. Mr. Alexander Knobloch, of 
Sarepta, has one worked by steam power. The seed is supplied by 
the peasants of the neighbourhood. The production in Russia in 1867 
(including a few other miscellaneous oil-seeds) was officially stated at 
335,000 cwts. At Voroneje 6000 to 8000 poods (of 36 lbs.) of seeds 
are produced. In Russia the seed sells at about 40 copecks the pood, 
or 2 roubles 60 copecks the chetwert ; the oil at 3^ to 4 roubles the 
pood. The following practical instructions may be given to produce 



CANDLE NUTS. 



419 



the plant in perfection. There is required a light rich soil, as un- 
shadowed by trees as possible. The earlier the seed can be got in 
the ground the better, say the end of September or the beginning of 
October, as the crop will be ready to harvest the latter part of 
February, which will be of the greatest importance to growers. The 
necessary quantity of seed required for an acre depends on the con- 
dition of the soil, and varies from 4 to 5 lbs. ; but of course it is 
advisable to sow a little more than is actually wanted, to provide 
against accidents. The seed should be drilled into the ground ; the 
distance from row to row 18 inches ; the plants to be thinned out to 
30 inches from plant to plant ; and the number of plants at this 
distance would be about 11,000 per acre ; at 18 inches from plant to 
plant 25,000 per acre ; and at 12 inches from plant to plant 32,000. 
The produce varies considerably, according to the state of the soil, the 
climate, and the cultivation that is employed ; but the average quantity 
of seed may be taken at 50 bushels per acre, and the yield of oil at a 
gallon per bushel. 

The seed varies in relation of husk to kernel from 41 and 60 
per cent, of the former to 40 to 59 of the latter, and the percentage 
of oil between 16i and 28 per cent. On the average, however, about 
18 per cent, of oil may be obtained by expression. 

Candle Nuts. — Under the name of candle nuts there are imported 
into this country an oil seed, the hard fruit, either in the shell or 
broken, of the Aleurites triloba and A. Moluccana. The French call 
them Bancoul nuts, and in the PacifijC islands they are known as 
kukui. Aleurites triloba is a native of the Malay islands and Assam. 
It is also cultivated in Lower Bengal. The kernels are much relished 
there, having the taste of English walnuts. 

Two or three species are known, spread over the Molucca Islands, 
Ceylon, and the archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean. It is very 
common in the forests of Cochin China, New Caledonia, Tahiti, 
Eeunion, &c. The fruit, produced in abundance, falls to the ground 
when it has arrived at maturity. This nut is composed of a hard and 
ligneous shell, containing an oily kernel, of which the following is 
the composition : 



Water .. 5-000 

Oil 62-175 

Nitrogenous substances 22 - 653 

Non-nitrogenous substances 6-827 

Mineral matters 3 - 345 



100-000 

In its normal state it contains : 

Nitrogen 3 - 625 per cent. 



According to this analysis, the kernel is rich in oil and in nitro- 
genous substances. It is worthy, therefore, of attracting the more 
prominent attention of manufacturers and agriculturists. 

The nuts analyzed came from Tahiti. The French Minister of 

2 E 2 



420 



CANDLE NUTS. 



the Marine distributed them to several mamifacturers of oil, in order 
to experiment on them in their factories. The following is the com- 
position of the oilcake : 

Water 10-25 

Oil 5-50 

Nitrogenous substances 47 "81 

Non-nitrogenous substances 24 '04 

Phosphoric acid 3-68 1 

Potash 1-53 [ 12-40 

Magnesia, lime, silica, &c. .. 7*19 j 

100-00 

In its normal state it contains : 

Nitrogen 7-65 per cent. 



This analysis shows that the cake is rich in nitrogen and in phos- 
phates. It would be still more so if it did not contain a certain 
quantity of the remains of the shells, which could not be completely 
separated from the kernels. Monsieur Ed. Nay obtained from the 
kernels 55 to 57 per cent, of oil, 40 to 41 per cent, of cake. From 
these results, it must be admitted that the cake which is manufac- 
tured from perfectly shelled seeds might contain up to 9 per cent, of 
nitrogen, and 4 per cent, of phosphoric acid. It would therefore be 
a good manure of great value, superior even to ground-nut cake. It 
is not good for cattle food ; at least, it must be supposed so. The 
oil expressed from the kernels is purgative, and could not therefore 
serve for alimentation. For lighting purposes it is superior to colza 
oil, and can be bm'nt without undergoing purification. A simple 
filtration suffices to render it clear and limpid.* It also appears that 
this oil is very siccative, for when applied in layers on the hull of a 
ship it preserves it for a long time from every kind of change. Some 
interesting experiments were made for this purpose on some men-of-war 
in Cochin China and at Guiana. Unfortunately the hard shell of the 
candle nut presents great difficulties. This nut only contains 33 per 
cent, of kernel. The remainder is the hard shell, which is probably 
useless. It therefore results that on account of the high price of 
freight from the places of production it cannot be imported whole. 
The shelling must be performed before its shipment. According to 
the experiments made by Monsieur Ed. Nay, this husking is a very 
laborious operation, on account of the excessive hardness of the shell ; 
nevertheless, it may suffice to make known the interest which attaches 
to this question to excite the emulation of inventors. He who con- 
structs a simple, cheap apparatus, which can be transported to the 
colonies, to perform the desired work, will probably make a good 
thing of it and render a signal service to commerce. 

A larger quantity of oil is obtained from the nut, and with much 
less difficulty, if, after the reduction of the kernels into a coarse 
powder, by means of a pestle and mortar, roller, or hand-mill, they 
are submitted to a low heat. For this purpose a water bath is used, 
care being taken to constantly stir the powder with a wooden spatula, 

* The Nukuhivians light their huts with the very oily candle nnt (^Aieurites triloba), 
threaded on a skewer, which does not give them much trouble. 



THE JAPAN WAX TREE. 



421 



in order to diffuse the heat equally throughout the whole mass. 
When the substance is sufficiently heated, it is placed in canvas bags 
and submitted to pressure. The oil escapes with much more facility, 
the heat having coagulated the albumen; it is clear and can be 
immediately filtered. The oil may also be prepared by previously 
roasting the nuts in ovens. When they are broken, the kernel then 
separates very easily from the shell, which is not the case with the 
raw nuts. In the latter case the fragments of kernel are separated 
with the point of a knife, which causes a great loss of time. The oil 
which is obtained after this roasting is of a much darker colour than 
that which is extracted by the preceding process. In all cases, the 
kernel must be completely separated from its outer shell, for in 
crushing the whole together, an enormous loss is experienced. The 
following are the returns which were obtained, and with a stronger 
pressure a larger quantity of oil would result: 224 lbs. of whole 
nuts give 4 lbs. of kernels ; 224 lbs. of kernels produce 50 quarts of 
oil. 

At the Sandwich Islands, where it is prepared in large quantities, 
this oil is 40 per cent, cheaper than linseed oil. In commerce in the 
Pacific it is designated under the name of Kuhui oil. The oil of this 
nut has many useful applications. In the arts, it may be employed 
in painting as a drying oil ; after having been boiled, it dries com- 
pletely at the end of six hours. In the manufacture of soap it would 
replace at Tahiti with great advantage the cocoanut oil which is used. 
It is excellent for lighting purposes, and burns without the unpleasant 
odour which cocoanut oil gives out; it has not, like the latter, the 
disadvantage of deteriorating the lamps ; lastly, it gives a very bril- 
liant light. It may be reckoned among the drastic purgatives. Very 
good effects are obtained with a dose of 15 to 20 grammes in an aro- 
matic potion. It is said to be used in Java at table, which must 
depend on a special mode of preparation, that is to say, the fresh 
kernel has alone been submitted to pressure. It will thus be seen 
this oil merits being prepared in Oceania and in New Caledonia. 
Indigenous to those islands, it grows everywhere ; on the tops of the 
mountains, where it appears to be most common, on the sloping and 
inaccessible parts, in deep ravines, in fresh and fertile valleys. It 
is very abundant up to a height of 2700 feet ; above that, it becomes 
rare, and disappears completely at 4000 feet. 

The J APAN Wax Teee. — In J apan a considerable quantity of solid 
vegetable wax, which melts at 128° and congeals at 132°, is obtained 
from the seeds or berries of several species of Mlius ; that w^hich is 
most generally cultivated is the Rhus succedanea. This is grown 
amongst vegetables more or less extensively almost everywhere in 
Japan, especially in the western provinces from the south northwards 
to the 35th degree. 

The lacquer tree [B. vernicifera) also yields the wax, and differs but 
little in appearance from the other species, except that its geographical 
limit extends farther northwards, being at 38°. The Bhus sylvestris, a 
wild species, is also utilized for the purpose. The cultivated species 
was originally imported from the Loo Choo islands ; the growers now 



422 



POPPY-SEED OIL. 



distinguisli seven different varieties of this tree. The wax tree grows 
in great abundance on the mountainous declivities of the province of 
Kinas, and in Hiozo, Hizen, Simabara, Chutugo, and Chekusin ; the 
fields are hedged in with it. The seeds, which ripen in October and 
November, are of the size of a small pea, and united in bunches ; the 
fat or wax is lodged between the kernel and the outer skin. When 
gathered they are exposed to the sun for a few days, and then stored 
in straw. When they have attained their proper maturity they are 
freed from the stems by threshing with flails of bamboo. They 
are crushed and winnowed, steamed, placed in hemp-cloth bags, 
steamed again, and afterwards pressed in a wooden wedge press all 
by hand. In order to facilitate the flow of the solid oil or vegetable 
wax, a small percentage of oil from the Pirella ocimoides, Lin., is 
added. The raw products form on cooling a coarse greenish, tallowy 
mass, which is remelted in an earthen vessel with water and ashes ; 
the yield is about 15 per cent, of the berries used. The wax is 
reduced to small scraps by means of a kind of planing tool, then 
washed and bleached in the sun and air, when it assumes a pure white 
colour. It is much used in Japan for candles. The exports of this 
wax from Hiozo and Osaka were 7410 piculs in 1874, and 10,056 piculs 
in 1875. Prices ranged between 11^ and 8 J dollars per picul. The 
consumption has greatly fallen oif in Loudon within the last few years, 
owing to previous high cost of the article, which induced buyers to 
substitute paraffin and other cheaper materials, and even the above 
low prices have not left a profit to shippers. 

The wax is now generally prepared in large square blocks or cakes 
of 133 lbs., in place of the old saucers or round cakes of from 4 to 4J 
inches in diameter and 1 inch thick, by which a saving in freight is 
effected. The value of this wax, shipped from Hiozo in 1875, was 
93,277 dollars ; from Osaka, 955 piculs, valued at 8986 dollars. The 
total value of the Japan wax exports were, in 1874, 215,642 dollars; 
in 1875, 186,244. Of vegetable tallow there was exported from Kew 
Kiang in China, in 1875, 2747 piculs. 

Poppy-seed Oil. — The seeds yield by expression about 50 per cent, 
of a bland and very valuable oil, of a pale golden colour, fluid to within 
10° of the freezing point of water. It dries easily, is inodorous, of 
agreeable odour, and partially soluble in alcohol. The seed is worth 
about 51s. to 53s. per quarter in the English market. By simple 
exposure to the rays of the sun in shallow vessels, the oil is rendered 
perfectly colourless. It is expressed by means of a heavy circular 
stone, placed on its edge, made to revolve by a long lever, and the 
apparatus is worked by draught bullocks. 

Mr. Bingham furnishes the following note: "The seed has no 
narcotic qualities, but has a sweet taste, and is used, parched, by 
the lower class of natives as a food ; it is also much used by the 
sweetmeat makers as an addition in their wares. This and the seed 
of the Teel [Sesamum orientale) are the only oil-seeds, with the excep- 
tion of the cocoanut, which are used for that purpose. It produces, 
under the native method, a clear limpid oil, which burns very quickly. 
About 30 per cent, of oil is generally extracted, and the cake is then 



PHYSIC NUT. 



423 



sold as a food to the poorer classes. The oil sells at about 5 seers 
per rupee at Shahabad. The production of this seed is only limited • 
by the production of the poppy. 

" In Oude each ryot sows from two to four beegahs in the month of 
October. The oil is extracted by the common native press. The cost 
of the seed is 10 seers for the rupee, and the oil sells for 3 seers 
for the rupee ; two-fifths of the weight of the seed employed is about 
the proportion of oil yielded by the native process. The poppy seed 
is eaten by the natives made into sweetmeats, provided the opium has 
been extracted from the seed vessel, otherwise it is bitter and nar- 
cotic, and under these circumstances the oil extracted is also bitter. 
Used for cooking and burning." 

Of poppy seed from India, the United Kingdom receives the greatest 
share: 286,390 cwts., and worth 157,513Z., in 1875. France took 
115,728 cwts., valued at 63,649/. This export trade is almost entirely 
confined to Bengal, only a very small quantity being shipped from 
Bombay. 

In France the poppy occupies an extent of 47,078 hectares of land 
in the region of the north-west, being grown for its seed. 

Melon Seeds (Cucumis melo). — Under the local name of "petit 
beraf " large quantities of these seeds are collected in various parts of 
Africa, as in Senegal, Abeokuta, &c. They yield 30 per cent, of a 
very fluid oil much like olive oil, which is used for food and for soap- 
making. The production in Senegal in 1860 was 62,266 kilos., selling 
at 20 to 30 francs the 100 kilos. In China no less than 4295 piculs 
of melon seed valued at 345 IZ., were shipped from Chefoo in 1875. 
The oleaginous seeds of other cucurbitaceous plants are also used ; 
one called the " gros beraf " is the produce of Cucurhita mirooi\ and 
called by the natives iam-bosse. 

Physic Nut (Cur cas ;purgans, Jjindh; JatrojpJia Curcas^JAn..). — This 
small tree or shrub is grown in Brazil, the East and West Indies, and 
West Africa ; but the principal seat of production is the Cape Verde 
Islands. In the tropics, hedges and enclosures are made with this 
shrub, as cattle will not touch the leaves. The seeds are excessively 
drastic, hence their general name of purging nuts. 

This plant grows in abundance at Casamanca, and Gaboon and other 
parts of the African coast could supply this oil-seed. 

The bush from which the seed is obtained is readily increased 
by cuttings, which rapidly take root. The seeds are three or four, 
contained in a thin skin, which is black ; the seed is of the same 
colour, and grows in bunches ; the stems of the bushes are not strong, 
but they answer excellently for fences, with split bamboo tied on 
each side to keep them straight and together, and the great ad- 
vantage is that no kind of cattle eat them. The seeds are collected 
and the oil expressed in the usual way. 

The oil obtained from the seeds is chiefly used for lamps, and also 
in cutaneous diseases and chronic rheumatism. The Chinese boil the 
oil with oxide of iron to make the black varnish used for coating boxes, 
&c. The oil is viscous, of a deep yellow, with a density of 0-918. 



424 



CHINESE OILS. 



This oil has been frequently imported into England as a sub- 
stitute for linseed oil. The colour is somewhat paler ; it answers 
equally well. Quantities of the seeds are shipped fi'om the archipelago 
of the Cape Yerde Islands ; the average export from thence is about 
100,000 hectolitres annually ; they are sold at the port for 5 francs 
the decalitre. The seeds are known under the name of Pignons 
d'Inde by the French, and Purgueira by the Portuguese. 

The following shows the quantity of these seeds raised in 1869 
in the Cape Verde Islands, the chief locality of production : 

Tons. 

St.Jago 15,750 

Fogo 900 

Bona Vista 22 



16,672 



An oil obtained from another species in India (Jati-opha glauca, 
Vahl.) is also used locally in medicine and for lamps. In appearance 
and consistence it resembles castor oil. The seeds of other species, 
J. thvltifida and J. gossypifolius, are also purgative. 

Croton Oil. — This powerfully cathartic oil, well known in this 
country for its medicinal properties, is procured from the seeds of 
Croton tiglium, a small tree, native of Hindostan, Ceylon, and the 
Moluccas. The oil is obtained by grinding the seeds, placing the 
powder in bags, and pressing them between plates of iron. The oil is 
then allowed to stand fifteen days, and afterwards filtered. The 
residue after expression is saturated with twice its weight of alcohol, 
heated on the sand bath from 120° to 140° Fahr., and the mixture 
pressed again. The alcohol is distilled off, the oil allowed to settle, 
and filtered after a fortnight. One seer (2 lbs.) of seed fui-nishes 
11 fluid ounces of oil ; 6 oz. by the first process, 5 oz. by the second. 
Sometimes the seeds are roasted before they are compressed. The 
seeds of 0. BoxhurgJiii, C. Pavana, and C. ohlongifolius have similar 
purgative properties. So powerful, purgative, and emetic is this oil, 
that one or two drops are sufficient for a dose. 

Chinese Oils. — Among the vegetable oils in China are cabbage oil 
or rape ; Tung oil, from the berries of Dryandra cordata ; ground- 
nut oil \Amchis) ; til seed {Sesame orientale) ; tea-seed oil, from Thea 
viridis ; oil pea (Doliclios viridis) ; and the oil bean (Soja hispida). 
The latter product forms a considerable article of commerce in China. 
This pulse oil possesses a great analogy to the ordinary edible oils 
of commerce ; its odour and flavour are agreeable, and it is useful for 
burning. Exposed to a low temperature it becomes pasty, and re- 
sinifies rapidly when exposed to the atmosphere. Being a drying oil, 
it might serve to replace linseed in some of its uses. The plant has 
the character of a shrub, it branches near the ground, and attains a 
height of from 3 to 4 feet. It yields about 18 per cent, of fatty 
matter, and the Chinese regularly obtain 17 per cent, of oil from it. 



OIL OF BEN. 



425 



There are several varieties of this bean, white, yellow, and green. 
The yellow are made into a fermented mass, or cheese, called tan-fir, 
by macerating them in water and pressing them into a cake, adding 
lime and salt to precipitate the caseine, which is obtained in the 
form of a jelly. It is chiefly cultivated in the north of China, parti- 
cularly in the province of Shantung. Upwards of 3000 junks are 
employed in its transport to the southern ports. From Che-foo there 
were exported, in 1869, 242,224 piculs of bean-cake, and 5570 piculs 
of bean oil, and about 10,000 piculs of the cake were imported into 
Foo-Choo-foo, valued at 42,000Z. The cake is not only used for 
human food and for stock, but also as manure. 

In the Madras Presidency in 1870 there were 1,018,000 acres 
under culture with oil-seeds, consisting chiefly of the following : 
50,000 acres under rape seed in Tinnevelly ; 67,000 acres with the 
castor oil plant, chiefly in Coimbatore ; 870,000 chiefly under gingely, 
&c., in Godavery. 

Oil of Ben. — From the seeds of two species of a leguminous 
plant, Moringa aptera and M. pterygosperma, is obtained an oil which 
is valued for its fluidity. It is mild, almost colourless, does not turn 
rancid, and is of a pleasant taste. The oleine, when separated from 
the stearine, is highly appreciated by watchmakers, and also by per- 
fumers, as it retains the most fugaceous odours without diminishing 
their softness. Hence it serves to fix the odorous principles of 
certain flowers, such as the tuberose, the heliotrope, and the jasmine. 
It is, however, rarely to be met with pure in commerce, and is gene- 
rally replaced by virgin olive oil. One species of the tree grows in 
several of the West India islands, whilst the other, M. aptera, is found 
principally in Egypt and India, whence small quantities of the seeds 
are occasionally imported. 



( 426 ) 



SECTION VI. 



THE PRINCIPAL FPUITS OF COMMERCE. 

Vine Culture and the Grape. — The culture of the grape for the 
purpose of making a beverage from the juice is, literally, " as old as 
the hills " — it dates from the era of Mouut Ararat. The vine is now 
grown in almost every portion of the inhabitable globe, but thrives 
best between 32° and 50° of latitude, the most favourable location for 
a vineyard being the southern declivity of a hill. Hitherto the best 
wines have come from southern Europe, Madeira, the Canaries, and 
the Cape. In Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, France, Spain, and 
parts of Germany and Switzerland, as many jjersons are employed in 
the culture of the vine as in all the other agricultural pursuits. 

In the United Kingdom the grape seldom ripens well in the open 
air, although very fine hothouse fruit is raised. Still there is a large 
import of fresh grapes from the Continent. 

The imports of grapes into the United Kingdom have been : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 








bushels. 


£ 






1866 


69,553 


64,154 






1867 


85,226 


78,930 






1868 


94,213 


67,176 






1869 


102,670 


74,761 






1870 


142,723 


87,416 





The official returns since 1870 do not particularize grapes. 

Of dried raisins we take for consumption in the United Kingdom 
from 350,000 to 400,000 cwts. per annum, and of dried currants 
870,000 to 900,000 cwts. 

The muscatel grapes are those which by a costly process are made 
into " Pasas " or Malaga raisins. There are various qualities, which 
range in the following order, and of which the range of prices ruling 
in 1871, for cases of 25 lbs., show the comparative values: 



Francs. 

Prepared for America . . 8 

Choice.. 9 

Superior 11 

Koyal 15 



Imperial 

English, third quality 
second „ 
„ first „ 



Francs. 
20 
18 
22 
26 



The exports were 23,178,120 kilos, in 1870. 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



427 



In 1871, 426,750 cwts. of box raisins were shipped from Malaga, 
and in 1872, 563,023 cwts. Tlie number of boxes sent to the United 
Kingdom in 1872 was 374,949. The average of the five years from 
1867 to 1871 was 184,077 boxes. 

The green grapes ( TJva porron) are gathered almost entirely in the 
provinces of Granada and Almeria. These large and oblong grapes, 
with a thick skin, are sent, still green, during the months of August 
and September to the north of Europe, packed in barrels of 50 or 
100 lbs. weight, and filled with sawdust to prevent bruising and 
becoming mouldy. The exports from Malaga were 10,076 barrels in 
1870, and 18,224 barrels in 1871. 

There are imported into London about 35,000 barrels (of 50 lbs.) 
of Spanish or Almeria grapes, which are sold at auction by the fruit- 
brokers. This is exclusive of the Lisbon grapes (of which there are 
no available figures), and the large imports direct to Covent Garden 
market from the Continent. The cargoes arrive at different times 
from about the last week in May to August. The following have been 
the quantities of raw fruit (not otherwise described) imported into 
the tJnited Kingdom, which include pine-apples, melons, apples, &c. : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




bushels. 


£ 


1867 


237,598 


139,079 


1868 


337,631 


160,388 


1869 


303,565 


150,619 
131,967 


1870 


252,228 


1871 


1,128,568 


596,107 


1872 


1,691,703 


1,024,685 


1873 


1,324,608 


762,710 


1874 


2,622,914 


1,109,984 


1875 


2,220,412 


986,248 



The quantity of wine taken for consumption in the United Kingdom 
has been as follows : 



i Year. 


Gallons. 


Per Head 
of Population. 




1845 


6,736,131 


0-24 




1850 


6,437,222 


0-23 




1855 


6,296,439 


0-23 




1860 


7,358,192 


0-23 




1865 


11,993,760 


0-40 




1870 


15,079,854 


0-49 




1875 


17,243,942 


0-53 



The following figures show the exports of wine from some of the 
principal producing countries : 

France, 1875 373,000,000 litres (If pints). 

Spain, 1875 149,807,000 „ 

Portugal, 1871 31,956 pipes of 115 galls. 

Italy, 1874 352,195 hectolitres of 22 galls. 

Greece, 1874 481,057 ocqnes. 



428 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



The extent of land under culture with vines in some of the principal 
wine-growing countries, according to the latest returns, was : 





Year. 


Acres. 




1873 


6,379,309 




1874 


45,660 


GGrmfiii EmpirB « • 


1873 


335^064 


J3a,v8/ri3. < ■ • • 


1863 


54,653 


W^urteniburg , . . . 


1875 


58,579 




1875 


391,935 




1873 


998,558 




1873 


469,064 




1875 


1,000,000 




1873 


123,550 




1873 


247,000 




1873 


162,642 


United States 


1875 


2,000,000 


Cape Colony 


1875 


18,177 


Australian colonies . . 


1876 


16,000 



France. — The vineyards of France form a very important part of 
the agriculture of the country. The vine is cultivated in the south, 
in Burgundy, and the borders of the Moselle and Garonne. The vine 
covered, in the close of the eighteenth century, an area of a little more 
than 1,500,000 hectares, now it extends over ahout 2,500,000, very 
unequally distributed in seventy-seven departments. 

Every year above 5,000,000 kilogs. of grapes enter Paris, bringing 
to the municipality a revenue of 300,000 francs, arising from the 
octroi duty at 5*75 francs per kilog. Between August, 1873, and 
August, 1874, the commission houses received 3,500,000 kilogs., and 
1,500,000 kilogs. were sold by auction, making a total of 5,000,000 
kilogs. 

The vine occupied in France, in 1871, an area of 6,043,000 acres, 
or more than 4J per cent, of the total surface of the country. The 
production of wine was 59,025,680 hectolitres, roughly valued at 
62,000,000Z. The average produce per hectare was 24 • 42 hectolitres, 
and the mean price 26 * 27 francs. The average return per hectare 
being 641*42 francs. The departments where the production of wine 
was largest were : 

Hectolitres. 

Herault 9,581,000 

Charente Inferieure 5 , 255 , 000 

Gironde 3,689,000 

Var 3,323,000 

Charente 2,833,000 

Aude 2,583,000 

Gers 2,341,000 

Gard 1,799,000 

Indre et Loire 1 , 566 , 000 

Loire Inferieure 1,256,000 

Cote-d'Or 1,247,000 

Vienne 1,209,000 

Lot et Garonne 1,104,000 

Saoneet Loire 1,025,000 



VINE CULTUEE AND THE GRAPE. 



429 



These 14 departments, of whicli the first 8 are situated in the south, 
furnish of themselves 66 per cent, of the total produce. 

Taking the value of the yield, the departments do not stand in 
the same order. For instance, the most productive are (reckoning in 
millions of francs) the following • 



Franrs. 

Herault 196,000,000 

Gironde 166,000,000 

Charente Inf e'rieure 105,000,000 

Charente 57,000,000 

Var .56,000,000 

Indreet Loire 47,000,000 

Gers 46,000,000 

Lot et Garonne 44,000,000 

Cote-d'Or 43,000,000 

Saoneet Loire 41,000,000 

Gard 32,000,000 



The vine has barely maintained its production in the vineyards 
which produce the choice wines, but in other localities where it has 
been largely manured and more productive vines have been sub- 
stituted for those which bear less fruit, they now obtain double the 
quantity of grapes yielded thirty years ago. 

In 1866 the average produce of wine stood at 30 "10 hectolitres 
per hectare, while in 1840 the mean yield was only 18*65 hectolitres. 

The vine is trained in 100 different ways in France. It is gene- 
rally propped or supported in Burgundy, Champagne, Lorraine, Orleans, 
Macon, Touraine, and Berry. Most ordinarily it is cultivated on 
trellises, more or less elevated, in Bordelais, the Dauphine, and the 
county of Nice. It has no support in Lower Languedoc, Provence, 
Saintonge, and Annis, and the culture is called the low vine system. 

Those which grow on the slopes of mountains, or in localities where 
the temperature is not very favourable to the ripening of the fruit, 
are supported by maples, walnuts, and willows. 

The vines which furnish the choice wines do not yield on the 
average above 15 or 20 hectolitres of wine per acre. On the contrary, 
those yielding the common wines often give, especially in the regions 
of the south and south-west, 120 to 150 hectolitres per hectare. 
There are, indeed, in Lower Languedoc, vines which produce in good 
years 300 up to 400 hectolitres per hectare. The value of the ordinary 
wines has largely increased in the last thirty years. In 1840 the 
medium price which the grower obtained was 11*40 francs the hecto- 
litre ; in 1866 it had risen to 28|- francs. 

The following has been the production of wine in France, according 
to the statistics of the Minister of Finance : 

Hectolitres Hectolitres 
(22 galls.). (22 galls.). 

I860 39,558,000 1870 53,537,000 

1865 68,943,000 1874 j63,146,000 

If we take other decennial periods for comparison we find that the 
production in hectolitres was in : 

Hectolitres. 

1852 38,060,000 

1862 48,630,130 

1872 54,920,181 



d30 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



In 1872 there were 2,428,737 hectares under vines. 

About one-fourth of the produce is white wine, the rest red. The 
value of the wine in 1872 was set down at 63,500,000/. The pro- 
duction of wine in 1871 was 59,025,680 hectolitres. 

It is estimated that out of 63,000,000 hectolitres of wine produced 
in France 30,000,000 cannot be preserved or transported, and is there- 
fore consumed at the place of production in the natui-al state; 4,000,000 
hectolitres of wine are lost by diseases of the vines, 6,500,000 hecto- 
litres are subjected to distillation, to furnish the brandy for the fortify- 
ing of wines, which, without this, could not be preserved. 

Algeria. — In 1875 there were 12,182 hectares under* culture with 
the vine in Algeria by Europeans. The XDroduce, owing to a bad 
season, prolonged rains and fogs in spring, was but 196,313 hecto- 
litres of wine. The natives are also increasing their culture, and had 
7862 hectares under culture with vines. 

United States. — The geographical distribution of the indigenous or 
wild vines of North America extends over four different botanical 
regions. 

1. The northern region, embracing all the States north of the 
38th parallel. 

2. Those of the Southern States, Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 
Alabama, &c. 

3. Those of the south-west, including Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, 
and the eastern part of New Mexico. 

4. California, Sonoma, and western New Mexico. 

Besides these, European varieties have been introduced and accli- 
matized in the valleys of New Mexico and California. 

The wild or indigenous American vines are the Scuppernong, 
Vitis cestivalis, punctata, and cordifolia. 

Those cultivated are the Catawba in the districts of Columbia and 
Boston, the Clinton, Henshaw, Isabella, Hartford prolific, Bartlett, 
amber, Lobrusca, and Scuppernong. 

The Henshaw and Scuppernong contain only about 8 per cent, of 
sugar in the pound weight, while the others range from 10 to 11^ 
per cent. The Clinton and Catawba contain the most sugar and 
alcohol. 

The production of wine in the United States has been steadily 
increasing. According to the Census returns, in 1850 only 221,249 
gallons were made ; in 1860, 1,627,192 gallons are recorded. 

The cultivation of grapes for vintage in America has increased to 
enormous proportions. In California, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 
and Michigan the industry is considered very remunerative. In 1869, 
the total production was 3,092,330 gallons; 1,814,656 gallons from 
California; 326,173 gallons from Missouri; 212,912 gallons from Ohio, 
and the remainder from the other states. In 1870, Ohio alone pro- 
duced 2,577,907 gallons of wine, and 15,853,719 lbs. of grapes. In 
1874, owing to wet weather and the 'phylloxera, the quantity fell to 
1,031,923 gallons; in 1872, to 425,923 ; and in 1873, to 208,289. In 
1874 the phylloxera disappeared, and Ohio again j)roduced 1,078,056 
gallons. The places of cultivation are principally located on the 
shores and islands of Lake Erie. Large shipments of wine are at 
present being made to Europe. 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



431 



Witlain a radius of 25 miles of Cincinnati it is computed that there 
are 2500 acres of ground devoted to the culture of grapes. In favour- 
able seasons the average of wine per acre is 200 gallons, equal to 
500,000 gallons as the whole crop for the section described ; worth, 
fresh from the press, ^500,000. 

The Catawba grape, an indigenous variety, is now extensively cul- 
tivated in the west and south-west, and the Catawba wine bids fair to 
become an important article of commerce. In 1854 the vineyards 
comprised less than 3000 acres, the greater portion of which was in 
the vicinity of Cincinnati, from whence the grape culture has since 
spread, along both banks of the Ohio, to Pittsburgh and Cairo, and in 
a southerly direction through Kentucky and Tennessee to Alabama, 
and westwardly into Missouri. 

On the Ohio an acre yields on an average 500 gallons of wine, an 
immense yield, compared with the average of France. In 1853, which 
was a most fruitful year, the yield was extraordinary, averaging along 
the Ohio 650 gallons to the acre, some vineyards even producing from 
800 to 900 gallons. The wine growers of Ohio are mainly Germans 
and their descendants. 

California. — The growth of vines in California is increasing very 
rapidly, and proper attention is being paid to the selection of sorts 
suitable to the soil. There are upwards of 31,000,000 vines. The 
State of Los Angelos has 4,500,000 vines, producing annually 
1,500,000 gallons of wine. The produce of an acre is 12,000 lbs. of 
grapes, worth 5d per lb. The kinds grown are the Mission grape, 
the White Muscat, the Tokay Blassien, the Eose, the Peruvian, and 
the Black Morocco. Up to within a few years the production of wine 
was confined to the " Mission grape," a variety introduced by the 
Spanish missionaries nearly a century ago. This grape makes a 
coarse, rough wine, varying in some degree according to the soil, 
but always inferior to that made from the vines imported from 
Germany, France, and southern Europe. Wines assimilating to the 
Hock, Muscatel, and Burgundy of Europe are now manufactured in 
Sonoma, Solano, and Napa counties in considerable quantities, and 
where the requisite attention has been paid to their manufacture, and 
they have been kept two or three years before being offered in the 
market, the quality is excellent, and cannot fail to create a demand 
for them in the eastern States and England. The southern grape is 
more particularly suited to the manufacture of wines resembling port 
and Angelica, and the latter is decidedly a superior article. Port is 
made here from very ripe grapes, those that hang on the vines until 
after the first frosts. The foot hills are particularly adapted to the 
cultivation of the vine, and in a few years the value of the wine 
exports may approximate to that of their grain. The oppressive 
internal revenue laws have sadly interfered with the manufacture of 
brandy, and instead of 1,000,000 gallons, which could have been 
profitably produced of late years, less than one-fourth has actually 
been manufactured. The quality must, however, be improved before 
there is any export demand for it. 

There were two disastrous failures in the wine crop, ov,'ing to late 
and severe frosts ; the yield of 1872 was only 4,000,000 gallons ; and 
of 1873, 3,800,000, besides about 176,000 gallons of brandy. 



432 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



The production of wine in 1874 was 7,000,000 gallons, besides the 
quantity necessary for the distillation of 200,000 gallons of brandy, 
viz. about 1,000,000 gallons of must ; 808,167 gallons of wine were 
exported. The vineyard proprietors have begun to introduce French 
and Germans, in order to improve the quality of their wine. 

The yield of the Californian vineyards for 1875 was about 
8,000,000 gallons. The State has vinicultural land enough to make 
as much wine as France, Germany, Hungary, and Spain combined 
could produce ; and there is no shadow of doubt among those who 
have given the subject the closest study, that California will in some 
future time out-rank every other wine-growing region in the world. 
The foot hills of this State, which are held at one-tenth the price of 
land in France, have a vast productive capacity, and seldom fail to 
produce a good crop. 

In the early days of California wine-making it was supposed that 
in order to make a good wine grapes had to be over-ripe ; hence the 
wines contained too much alcohol, and were too heavy for constant use. 
Of late there has been much improvement in this respect, which has 
been brought about by the introduction of European vines, having less 
saccharine and more acidity than the California gi*ape. Producers 
have also learned that it is better to pluck the grapes before they are 
fully ripe than to await over-ripening. 

One firm (Kohler and Frohling) use yearly 5,000,000 lbs. of 
grapes from Los Angelos vineyards, and purchase annually several 
hundred thousand gallons of wine. In five years more it is antici- 
pated 800,000 acres of barren hills, worthless for other purposes, 
will be green with the vines, which love those sunny slopes so 
well. 

In the vicinity of Coloma and the portion of El Dorado country 
sheltered by the grand old mountains, nestling by the river, overgrown 
with verdure, are more than two score vineyards, with hundreds of acres 
of bearing vines. No disease has ever been known among vines in this 
region, except perhaps a little mildew, but the frost and other meteoro- 
logical influences sometimes injure crops. Mr. Eobert Chalmers, 
in his Coloma vineyard has planted, on 110 acres, 110,000 bearing 
vines, comprising over forty varieties of foreign grapes. He makes 
from 6 to 10 tons of raisins yearly. It takes 3 tons of grapes to make 
one of raisins. The raisin crop of California for 1876 was estimated 
at 60,000 packages. The white Muscat grapes seem to take the lead, 
the raisins selling for 10 cents a pound, while Malagas are only worth 
8 cents. The Graingers shipped 500 boxes of the crop to China, 
where they expect to open up a good market for a portion of the 
California raisins. 

Mexico. — Vine culture and wine manufacture, although prosecuted 
on but a small scale, have been very successful, especially in the 
northern sections of Mexico. In many of the mountains of the Sierra 
Madre, vines grow abundantly, and show to what degree of prosperity 
this industry may reach when the producer can find his way to 
foreign markets. 

Brazil. — The vine has been cultivated successfully of late in the 
provinces of Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and also in certain portions 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



433 



of Eio de Janeiro, and Minas Geraes. In 1873 about 800 pipes, or 
320,000 litres of wine, were produced, of an average value of 17/. each 
pipe. In many places 1000 vines would yield 10 pipes, or 4000 litres. 
The American vine commands a preference. 

In many of the British colonies the culture of the vine has occupied 
a fair share of attention, particularly in Australia and the Cape of 
Good Hope, but there are many others in which it might be profitably 
extended. A pure unadulterated wine can be supplied from the Aus- 
tralian colonies, not only equal, but superior to the wines now in 
general consumption imported into this country from the continent of 
Europe. 

Our colonies may, before many years, become important purveyors 
to us of the pure juice of the grape. A little more than ten years ago 
the average consumption of wine per head in Great Britain was less 
than a quarter of a gallon, now it exceeds half a gallon, and is 
steadily increasing. Our colonies, hitherto, have contributed little 
or nothing to our supplies, but many of them have all the requisites 
of experience, soil, and climate, and, under encouraging circumstances, 
will send us hereafter considerable quantities. 

The Gape Colony. — When we look back and see that in former 
years the Cape colonists could ship 1,000,000 gallons of wine, it 
seems strange to find how this colonial industry has retrograded. In 
1855 there were about 12,000 acres under culture with the vine in the 
western district of the Cape Colony, and the produce was 34,221 
pipes of wine, and 4496 pipes of brandy. Vines covered 18,000 acres 
in 1875 as compared with 16,000 acres ten years before, and 4,500,000 
gallons of wine were made, besides 1,000,000 gallons of brandy 
and other spirits. In 1851 we imported 408,281 gallons of wine 
from the Cape. But the imports have been gradually getting less 
year by year, until, in 1870, we only received 40,235 gallons, and 
in 1875 but 11,200 gallons. Some goes, however, to other quarters, 
for the total ex^Dorts of Cape wines in 1873 were 75,200 gallons of 
ordinary, 778 gallons of Constantia, and 1048 gallons of brandy, 
besides the large quantity consumed locally. Cape wines are 
principally produced in the districts of Stellenbosch, Worcester, 
Swellendam, and George. In 1859 about 1,000,000 gallons were 
shipped; in 1865 only 193,000 gallons, and in 1872 but 78,000 
gallons, exclusive of 371 gallons of the sweet Constantia wine. This 
serious falling off is partly due to the heavy duties imposed under the 
provisions of the treaty with France of 1860, which fixes the scale of 
duty at Is. per gallon for wines under 26° of alcoholic strength, and 
2s. 6tZ. per gallon beyond that. It is found necessary to fortify Cape 
wines considerably, with a view of preventing deterioration and fer- 
mentation on the voyage. The wine growers of the Cape, in these 
circumstances, are naturally anxious that an uniform duty, amounting 
to say Is. 6d per gallon, should be imposed on all Cape wines admitted 
into the United Kingdom, and that South African wines should not 
have a higher rate of duty imposed unless they contain more than 38° 
of proof spirit. As compared with the wine growers on the Continent 
of Europe, the growers in both the Cape and Australia are, at present, 
at a disadvantage. 

2 F 



434 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GllAPE. 



The following shows the exports of ordinary Cape wines : — 





Oallons. 




Oallons. 










1858 .. 


802,748 
. .. 1,094,542 


1867 


71 268 


1859 .. 


1868 , 


84,569 


1860 . . 


551,787 


1869 


130,966 


1861 


, .. 317,085 
225,097 


1870 


88,533 


1862 . . 




61,689 


1863 


319,146 






1864 , , 


175,601 


1873 , , 


75,199 


1865 .. 


, ,, 192,869 


1874 , . . 


77,802 



Australia. — If there is one fruit more than another which luxuriates 
in the sunny clime of Australia, it is the gi-ape. According to 
statistics there were more than 17,000 acres under culture there 
with the vine, distributed as follows : 







Year. 


Acres. 








1874 
1872 
1874 
1871 
1874 


5,222 
4,526 

376 
6,181 

775 






Total 




17,030 

* 





The wine produced by these is, in Victoria, about 714,000 gallons ; 
New South Wales, 500,000 gallons ; South Australia, 800,000 gallons. 
This is exclusive of the brandy distilled and about 10,000 tons of 
grapes sold. 

The cultivation of the vine in Australia does not seem to have 
increased in the last few years, although a larger quantity of wine 
is made, the vines having become more productive. In the three 
principal wine-making colonies, New South Wales, Victoria, and 
South Australia, there were only 14,600 acres in 1875-6, but the 
production of wine is now more than 2,000,000 gallons against 
1,800,000 in 1870. Almost all the wine is consumed in the colony 
where it is made, the exj)ort from the three colonies in the last re- 
corded year having been only 80,000 gallons. The local consump- 
tion of European wines shows little diminution, and is still more 
than half a million gallons in those colonies. 

South Australia may now be regarded as one of the wine-producing 
countries of the world. There the vineyards average for forty miles 
round Adelaide, at least 30 ^cres each ; some exceeding 1000 acres 
and many attaining to 60. The whole of the country about the 
capital seems formed to be the home of those vines, which nature has 
destined to produce strong generous, full-bodied wines. If as much 
well-directed care and attention were bestowed on studying the true 
nature and capabilities of the must, as seems to have been expended 
on striving to force it to yield wines of a French or German character, 
the produce of South Australia would, ere now, have acquired even a 
better name than it enjoys. 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



435 



In South Australia nature herself is opposed to the production of 
these high bouquet wines ; there she demands consideration for body, 
sweetness, spirit, and other high qualities of generous T^dnes. The 
Eiesling and Verdeilho when not tortured, yield wines second only to 
the Bucellas of Lisbon, and the sweeter kinds of Madeira ; while the 
Donzellinha, the Black Portugal, the Schiras, Malaro, and Grenache 
yield wines of the character of good port, such as it is known 
in Portugal, the strongest of Hermitage, and that peculiar produce 
known as Roussillon. The produce of the Australian vineyards may 
vie with those of the most favoured countries of southern Europe. 
The local consumption of colonial wines increases year by year, and 
it is considered that they would compete successfully with the light 
wines of France in the English market, were they admitted at the 
same rate of duty. The price is yet too high to enable Australian 
wines to come into consumption here ; but if the rapid progress of 
production continues, there will soon be a large surplus to export to 
other countries^ 

Although at present wine can scarcely become an article of much 
export from Australia, it is interesting to watch the progress of the 
cultivation and to observe the rapid development of the vine. It was 
remarked in the Jury Eeports of the London Exhibition in 1862, that 
with care and time, there is every prospect of these colonies becoming 
the great wine-growing countries of that part of the world. Since 
that opinion was enunciated, remarkable progress has been made and 
the quality of Australian wines has received high favour at the Dublin 
Exhibition of 1862 ; that of Paris 1867 ; Vienna 1873 ; and London 
1873. There is, as might be expected, in dealing with an area almost 
continental, and considering the numerous varieties of the vine that 
have been introduced from all parts of Europe, an infinite difference 
in the produce. We there find wines of the character of the German 
wines, others resembling the French wines, whilst some have the 
substance and body of the wines of Spain. It was at one time con- 
sidered that Australian wines would not keep well, but the question 
has now been settled in the affirmative, for their natural strength is 
such that they require no fortifying. The raisins dried in some of 
the Australian colonies are unsui'passed for size and flavour, and the 
same may be said of currants. In South Australia of late years the 
price paid for grapes for crushing has been for Tokays and Madeiras, 
4Z. per ton, and for Frontignacs, Verdeilhos, and Muscats from 4Z. 10s. 
to bl. 

As many vineyards will yield 3 tons of grapes to the acre, it 
can be readily seen that vine growing is a really profitable investment. 
On comparison of the various figures, it will be found that the 
colonies of South Australia and Victoria far outstrip the older colony 
of New South Wales, which was the first to commence the culture of 
the vine. South Australia stands first and foremost as the fosterer 
of the vine and wine making, as the following figures show : 



Acres under 
Vine. 

1850 282 

1854 408 

1858 1055 



Acres under 
Vine. 

1860 3180 

1865 6364 

1871 6131 

2 F 2 



436 



TINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



In 1860 there were l,87i,751 vines in bearing, and 1,948,510 non- 
bearing, from wliicli 182,087 gaUocs of wine were produced and 28,398 
cwts. of grapes sold. In 1861 the planting of the vine proceeded 
vigorously in the colony. 

In 1864-65 there were 6,586,009 vines bearing, and 2,831,971 not 
bearing ; 798,647 gallons of wine were produced, and 30,627 cwts. of 
grapes sold for table use. In this year one-tenth more land had been 
planted with vines. 

In 1871 the vines were 5,783,674 productive, and 385,084 not bear- 
ing ; the wine made was 801,694 gallons, and the grapes sold 85,847 
cwts.* 

In South AustraKa the production of Zante cuiTants, and Sultana 
and other raisins, is satisfactorily progressing ; and many of the 
growers are grafting their inferior vines with these valuable varieties. 
The first sample of South Australian grown Zante currants sent to 
Melbourne were pronounced of better quality than those imported 
from Europe ; and when we bear in mind the fact that more than 
120,000Z. of dried fruit are annually imported into the Australian 
colonies, a large opening presents itself for the development of this 
industry. 

New South Wales. — The introduction of the vine into Australia is 
due to the efforts of the late Sir W. Macarthiu-, who in 1840 received 
cuttings from Eiu'ope and planted them on his estate at Camden Park 
about forty miles from Sydney. 

The quantity of land laid out in vineyards in New South "Wales in 
1852 was but 1096 acres, from which 92,744 gallons of wine were 
produced, and 1581 gallons of brandy. 

In 1872 the number of acres of vineyards had increased to 2466, 
and of these 1084 acres of vines were as yet unproductive. There 
were made 413,321 gallons of wine, 1765 gallons of brandy, and 508 
tons of grapes were sold for table fi'uit, from vineyards exceeding one 
acre in extent. 

New South Wales contains millions of acres of soil admirably 
adapted for the growth of the grape, of which nearly every European 
variety is rooted in the colony, and the produce of her vineyards 
compares well with those of the countries of southern Europe. The 
wines of the Albury district, on the Murray, are famous thi'oughout 
Australia, and the produce of the Hunter Eiver and New England 
country has been awarded many medals at the great International 
Exhibitions of London and Paris. All through the coast districts the 
grape flourishes, and generously rewards the grower. It is to be 
found in nearly every garden, and as an article of diet it is within 
the reach of the poorest in the land. The consumption of colonial 
wine increases year by year, and it is thought that the wines of New 
South Wales would compete successfully with the light wines of 
France in the English market, were they admitted at the same rate of 
duty. Wine-growing is a very profitable branch of agriculture in the 
colony, and may reasonably be expected, with the growth of popu- 
lation, to be more so. It does not confine its rewards to the large 

* Mr. J. T. Fallon on " Australian Vines and Wines," ' Journal of the Society of 
Arts,' vol. xxii. p. 39. 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



437 



capitalist, but will amply remunerate the man of small means who has 
the requisite skill and industry to enter upon it. One man can attend 
to 8 or 10 acres of vineyard by obtaining occasional assistance ; and if 
he have any mechanical ability, he can, as many of the small growers, 
who are chiefly Germans, now do, make most of his plant himself. 
Should he have to buy the plant he will need a capital of from 50/. to 
lOOZ. A handy man who could do his own coopering would require 
less. A small grower could not reckon on more than 300 to 500 
gallons of wine per acre. The largest manufacturer in the Hunter 
district has, in favourable seasons, and from certain kinds of grapes, 
obtained 1000 gallons per acre ; but his average yield would not be 
more than from 600 to 700 gallons. Much depends upon the soil and 
the variety of grape. Five hundred gallons must be considered a 
good average yield. At 400 gallons to the acre, and 2s. per gallon 
for his wine-juice, the vigneron would get 40Z. per acre, and 100 acres 
of vineyard would yield 4000Z. a year, leaving ample margin for 
casualties. The labour in a vineyard may be reduced to a small per- 
centage on the produce, by planting in such a manner that it can be 
ploughed in various directions, and by using suitable implements. 

Victoria. — Following in the wake of New South Wales, and from 
cuttings obtained from Sir W. Macarthur's vineyards at Camden, 
the vine was introduced into Geelong, and as early as the year 1851 
the Hon. D. Hope had fair vineyards there in full bearing, and pro- 
ducing a drinkable wine. The year 1855 showed 274 acres under 
culture in Victoria, producing 11,000 gallons of wine. 

In 1865 there were 4078 acres in vineyards, with 8,199,618 vines, 
from which 176,959 gallons of wine were made, besides 18,063 cwts. 
of grapes sold. 

The acreage under vines in Victoria in 1874 was 5222. The total 
weight of grapes gathered was 105,650 cwts., the wine produced 
562,713 gallons, and the brandy 100 gallons. The brandy made is 
generally not sold, but used for the purpose of fortifying wine. On 
the 31st March, 1876, there were planted in the colony 12,060,685 
vines, of which 11,071,813 were above three years old, 971,602 under 
three years, and 17,270 unspecified. The wine made in the year 1875 
was 755,000 gallons, of brandy 256 gallons ; 123,650 cwts. of grapes 
were made into wine, and 21,211 cwts. sold as table fruit. 

Queensland. — There is a large quantity of wine made in this 
colony, some of which is very good after having the advantage of a 
year or two in bottle. It is almost all consumed in the neighbourhood 
where it is produced, and vine growers mostly look for profit to the 
sale of the fruit. From the great range of soil and climate, it may 
confidently be anticipated that some of the districts will yet acquire a 
reputation beyond the colony for their vintages. 



438 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 

Next to the vine in commercial importance for its fruit comes the 
Orange family. For the production of oranges all the countries 
coming within the tropical and subtropical zones are well adapted. 
They abound in the East and West Indies and Pacific islands. 

Formerly proximity to this country was an essential in the produc- 
tion of the orange and lemon, for commercial purposes, and hence 
we derived our supplies almost exclusively from Spain and Portugal ; 
but the facilities afforded by steamers now enable us to obtain oranges 
and lemons in a good condition from more distant quarters. They 
now reach us from Malta and Sicily, West Africa, Brazil, the West 
India islands, and the Azores. 

The following figures give the imports of oranges and lemons into 
the United Kingdom in the last twelve years : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




bushels. 




1865 


1,566,745 




1866 


1,711,857 




1867 


1,453,566 


74*4,732 


1868 


1,806,372 
1,939,363 


876,197 


1869 


927,804 


1870 


1,933,421 


648,056 


1871 


2,376,831 


1,008,954 


1872 


2,385,160 


1,154,270 


1873 


2,308,208 


1,120,309 


1874 


2,403,338 


1,158,480 


1875 


2,861,719 


1,336,247 


1876 


2,995,323 


1,258,565 



The official return for 1870 is the latest which gives specific 
details showing the countries from which we received our supplies. 
It includes lemons as well as oranges : 





Quantity. 


Value. 




bushels. 


£ 




273,296 


92,318 




826,760 


281,502 




.514,676 


180,687 




287,909 


83,823 


Other countries . . 


30,780 


9,731 


Total .. 


1,933,421 


648,056 



The Spanish and Azores oranges are considered the best. Prices 
fluctuate a good deal. In 1870 they were, wholesale : for Portuguese, 
6s. 9d. a bushel, Spanish 7s., Italian 5s. 10c?. 

The Orange, in the widest sense of the term (Citrus Aurantium, Lin.), 
is a native of Southern Asia. It is a tree of great longevity, having 



PEODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



439 



been known to attain an age of 600 years and more. Any specific 
differences to distinguish C. aurantium, from G. medica, if they ever 
existed, are obliterated now through hybridization, at least in the 
cultivated forms. 

Four varieties of citrons are described which are cultivated in 
Sicily, and fourteen varieties of the orange, and there are several 
kinds of lemons and limes both with sweet and sour juice. 

The limit of the culture of the orange is almost about the same as 
the olive, except that, according to Schouw, it extends a little farther 
to the north. It crosses the northern part of Spain, the extreme 
south of Provence, traverses Italy a little above Florence, descends 
nearly to Greece, and, passing by the Isle of Cyprus, enters Asia. 
In France the limit traversed is the country where the mean tempera- 
ture is 14° the spring temperature 12°* 5, the summer temperature 
about 21°, and the autumn temperature 14°. 

The orange, lemon, lime, citron, shaddock, and forbidden fruit, all 
belong to one genus, the Citrus of Linnaeus. According to Lindley, 
there are fifteen distinct species, with a few varieties; Steudel* 
enumerates, however, twenty-five, besides numberless varieties. They 
are thought to be natives of the East, where they are found growing 
wild, and are not considered to be indigenous to America, although 
one native species is attributed to French Guiana. Six or seven of 
the choicest species are natives of China and Japan, and the rest of 
India, and other parts of Asia. 

Eisso, of Nice, in his large work, enumerates 48 species and 
varieties of the sweet orange, 32 of the bitter and sour, 5 of berga^ 
mots, 8 of limes, 6 of shaddocks, 46 of lemons, and 17 of citrons. 

In Central India a peculiar variety of Citrus Aurantium is under 
culture, producing two crops a year. The blossoms of February and 
March yield their ripe fruit in November and December, whereas 
from the flowers of July mature fruits are obtained in March and 
April. To prevent exhaustion, only alternate fruiting is allowed... 

As a prominent variety of Citrus Aurantium may be distin- 
guished the bitter orange (C. Bigaradia, Loisl.). This furnishes 
from its flowers the Neroli oil, so delicious and costly as a scent. 
The French are endeavouring to promote the manufacture of the 
essential oils of lemon and orange in their inter-tropical colonies. 
A machine or apparatus has been sent to Guiana, one to Tahiti, and 
another to Martinique. The French settlements in the Pacific send 
millions of oranges to California, although 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 
are produced there. The annual requirements of the San Francisco 
market are over 12,000,000, of which 5,000,000 are imported from 
Tahiti and Mexico. A part of the crop is made into an excellent 
spirit, and the rest are wasted. In Martinique many houses make 
large quantities of orange wine, which finds a ready sale in Turkey 
and Russia. The oranges employed for these diverse uses might be 
first made to yield their essential oil from the rind. Oil of oranges 
sells at about 7s. per lb., and oil of citron or bergamot at 10s. to 25s. 
per lb. These high prices are likely to stimulate an industry which has 
hitherto been monopolized by Sicily. It is stated that orange flowers 
* * Nomeuclatur Botauicum.' 



440 



PRODUCTS 0¥ THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



to the value of 50Z. might be gathered from the plants on an acre 
within a year. The rind of the fruit is used for candied lemon peel. 
It contains a bitter principle, hesperidin, and limonin, in the seed. 

Of the sweet orange {C. dulcis, Volkamm*), many kinds occur. 
The St. Michael's orange has been known to bear in the Azores, in 
sheltered places, 20,000 fruit on one tree in a year. Neroli oil is 
also obtained from the flowers of this and allied varieties. An in- 
fusion of the leaves of the orange, in the form of tea, is considered 
efi&cacious in fevers ; and when amalgamated with the flowers, it acts 
as a stimulant, and is given as a tincture when its effects are required 
to be energetic. The seeds contain a fixed oil, of an amber colour, 
which is highly valued for reducing swellings, and as an excellent oil 
for the hair. It may also be used for the table. From the flowers 
an odoriferous perfume is extracted, and they constitute an excellent 
stomachic. In the mandarin orange (G. nohilis, Loureiro), the thin 
part separates most readily from the deliciously flavoured sweet pulp. 
There are large and small fruited mandarin oranges ; the Tangerine 
variety is one of them. 

The shaddock, or pumpelmos (C. decumana, Lin.). This fruit will 
exceptionally attain a weight of 20 lbs. The pulp and thick rind can 
both be used for preserves. Citrus Bergaraium, Kisso. From the fruit 
rind of this variety bergamot oil is obtained, and also oil from the 
flowers. The Mellarosa variety fm'nishes superior oil, and exquisite 
confitures. All the varieties of the orange tribe may be raised from 
seed. Those thus raised will produce fine fruit, and if not suffered to 
grow to trees, may be used as stocks for budding. The bitter orange 
and the citron are, however, considered the best stocks for the sweet 
orange. Once fairly in growth, it requires only to be attended to, and 
plentifully watered in dry weather, with a supply of manure from 
the cowhouse. The orange may also be propagated by layers. 

The Citron, in the widest sense of the word (C. Medica, Lin.), is 
indigenous to southern Asia, but is widely diffused. As prominent 
varieties may be distinguished: the real citron (C. cedra, Gallesio). 
From the acid tubercular fruit essential oil and citric acid can be 
obtained, irrespective of the ordinary culinary use of the fruit. A 
large variety, with thick rind, furnishes the candied citron peel or 
succade of Italy. Five hundred or six hundred tons of candied peel 
are said to be used in this country. The cedrat oil comes from a 
particular variety. 

The real Lemon {C. Limomum, Eisso). From the fruit of this is 
largely pressed the lemon juice, while the thin, smooth, aromatic peel 
serves for the production of volatile oil, or for condiments. The 
sweet lemon ((7. lumea, Eisso), includes the pear lemon, with large 
pear-shaped fruit. The rind is thick and pale, the pulp not acid. 
This variety serves for particular condiments. The juice of this fruit 
is especially rich in citric acid. A large variety is the Eosaline 
lemon. Among the many cooling drinks for which American 
hotel-keepers have a specialite, lemonade is not wholly forgotten. 
Their demands, indeed, give activity to a flourishing industry in the 
south of Europe. The lemon growers of Mentone depend greatly 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORANGE PABIILT. 



Ml 



on American custom, whicli they almost entirely monopolize, as 
tlie lemons produced in the districts surrounding this port, being 
of a very superior quality, have the merit of beariug a long voyage 
uninjured, provided they are carefully packed previous to their em- 
barkation. The lemons cannot bear the shock of removal in a cart, 
and are carried in baskets to the packing shed, where they are 
severally wrapped in silver paper, and laid in rows in the packing 
cases, care being taken to pack them loosely enough to avoid bruising 
the fruit, and yet tightly enough to prevent their becoming dis- 
placed during the voyage. The American steamers engaged in this 
trade carry 5000 cases ; the case contains 500 lemons, and therefore 
each of these vessels conveys 2,500,000 of this useful fruit to the 
United States. 

The real Lime (C. Limetta, Risso). The best lime juice is obtained 
from this variety. In several of our colonies attention is now given 
to the production of this article. From the island of Dominica, in 
1874, 12,462 gallons, valued at 16001. , were exported. 

The requirements in the culture of the lime are very simple, and 
consist mainly in keeping the trees free from weeds, allowing them 
to spread freely, and irrigating during the dry months. No pruning 
is required, but merely the removal of exhausted and dry branches. 
Although the lime tree delights in a good soil, and is strengthened 
by a degree of moisture somewhat above the average, being a hardy 
plant it will thrive and be fruitful in soils and situations that may 
prove too poor and dry or exposed for coffee and cacao. Protracted 
drought is particularly fatal to the lime tree. The process of ex- 
tracting and preparing the lime juice is most simple, consisting of 
submitting the fruits to the pressure of a mill of no great power, and 
boiling down the resulting juice (which may be kept a great length 
of time without deteriorating) to the required density, and putting it 
into casks for exportation. The density which has been found most 
satisfactory in Dominica, is reached by boiling down to one-eighth 
the original volume. In Jamaica, lime juice has been, of late years, 
concentrated and shipped to America, to be used in fixing certain 
dyes. The exports, in 1874, amounted to 107,558 gallons, of the 
value of 5378/.; 475 barrels of limes, worth 190l, and nearly 
5,000,000 oranges, were shipped from Jamaica in 1874. From 
Montserrat 400 to 500 puncheons of lime juice have been shipped in 
the year. 

The quantity of oranges and lemons we receive in the United 
Kingdom has doubled in the last ten years. Our imports, in 1876, 
reached nearly 3,000,000 bushels, of the value, in round numbers, of 
1,300,000L 

The imports of oranges, citrons, and lemons into France from 
Spain and Italy have increased fourfold since 1836, when only 5,943,022 
kilos., valued at 111,660/., were imported ; in 1866 the quantity 
received had increased to 25,923,700 kilos., valued at 296,553/. 

Marseilles receives the largest quantity. The imports there were, 

in 

Kilos. Kilos. 

1836 2,217,589 1856 9,214,537 

1846 7,133,758 1866 9,592,120 



442 



PRODUCTS OF THE OEANGE FAMILY. 



Algeria. — The orange grows in all parts of this French colony 
which are not above 2000 feet elevation, especially in sheltered situa- 
tions, and acquires an excellent flavour and aroma. Besides the 
orange proper, the citron and lemon, the cedrat and the pumpelmos, 
are grown. Among the oranges are numerous varieties, among which 
the best known are the Portugal, Chinese, and mandarin, the bigaradia, 
or bitter orange, useful for making orange-flower water, essence of 
bergamot, mellarosa, &c. The fruit of the orange tribe is becoming 
yearly an article of larger importance. 

In 1865 there were 3095 planters, of whom 728 were European ; 
there were 130,411 orange trees in bearing, and 72,447 young trees; 
14,285,580 oranges were exported in the year. The province of Alger 
contains more orange groves than the other two. Blidah is the 
centre of production, and the orange groves in its vicinity form an 
evergreen circle of more than 500 acres. In 1873 there was exported 
from Morocco 1,577,700 oranges, valued at 9271. 

The Azores.— Previously to the year 1842, from 20,000 to 30,000 
boxes of oranges were annually exported from Fayal ; but owing to the 
attacks of the insect Coccus hesperidum, which destroyed the trees, 
for several years no oranges were produced. The insects have, how- 
ever, been gradually disappearing, and the exportation of oranges is 
augmenting. 

The trees are planted at a distance of from 25 to 30 feet apart, and 
the ground sown with lupins, which are considered by the Portuguese 
to be a favourite food of the orange trees. Seven years elapse from 
the time of bearing before the orange trees come into full bearing, 
during which space of time, more especially among the poorer class of 
proprietors, the garden is sown with melons, water melons, and other 
vegetables. The trees are pruned every year, so that by thinning out 
their superfluous branches a free circulation of air is allowed, which is 
required for the proper ripening of the fruit. The orange grounds at 
the Azores vary in size from 1 to 60 acres, and they are rarely occupied 
only by orange trees. The Portugal and mandarin orange are those 
principally grown. 

The exports from the Azores between 1851 and 1857 averaged 
about 130,000 boxes. The following shows the export since then in 
bushels : 



Bushels. 

1858 495,426 

1860 627,709 

1867 471,301 

1868 727,923 

1869 625,434 



Bushels. 

1870 826,760 

1871 897,773 

1872 817,927 

1873 628,549 



In 1861, 209,263 boxes of oranges, valued at 101,287/., were shipped 
from St. Michael's, and in 1862, 182,723 boxes, valued at 59,696Z. 
They pay an export duty in the island of 8^d. per box. The box 
may be said to hold about 3 bushels. 

In 1869 there were shipped from St. Michael's 238,194 large boxes 
of oranges. Some shipments are made in what are termed Eussia 
boxes, three of which are equal to two large or London market boxes. 
Tliey are also shipped in half or flat boxes, third, and quarter boxes. 



PRODUCTS OF THE OEANGE FAMILY. 



443 



In 1870, 283,712 large, or London boxes, were shipped to Great 
Britain, and 6798 boxes to the United States. In the export of this 
fruit to Great Britain 243 sailing vessels and 30 steamers were em- 
ployed. The value of the oranges shipped, taking each box at 5s. 4cZ., 
was 77,814Z. The shipping season extends from October to April. 
There is occasionally a considerable crop of what are called summer 
oranges {redolta\ which are very inferior, and scarcely cover prime 
cost and freight when sold in the English market. The oranges 
which ripen in the summer months are not only deficient in sweetness 
and flavour, but are far more susceptible of damage in transport. 

New South Wales. — Oranges and lemons are grown without diffi- 
culty in this colony where the soil is heavy ; they do not thrive at 
Sydney on account of the sandy soil. In favourable situations they 
are as fine as can be wished. One man (according to Mr. Atkinson) 
has made as much as 1500Z. per annum from 3 acres of orange 
garden. 

The mandarin orange, a celebrated Chinese fruit, is said to be 
better at Sydney than it is at Canton. It is a very beautiful dark 
orange-coloured fruit, with a highly perfumed rind, scarcely thicker 
than brown paper, and not adhering to the pulp, which is exceed- 
ingly sweet, and of a difierent flavour to any other orange. 

A considerable portion of land is devoted to the orange, par- 
ticularly in Cumberland, where a fine market and an accommodating 
railway are to be found. Thousands of cases come down to Sydney 
annually from the Parramatta orangeries, and are shipped to Mel- 
bourne, South Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, &c. The profits of 
orange-growing are, when the practical management of the tree is 
understood, very considerable ; but in many cases the trees have been 
exhausted by being allowed to bear heavily year after year, without 
any attempt to recruit their jaded powers by the administration 
of manure. Most of the orangeries are new ; but in some of the 
older ones the trees have attained a height of 35 feet, the diameter 
from the extremities of the branches being 33 feet. From trees of 
this size, of which there are few in the colony, 12,000 oranges are 
occasionally picked in the year, which, at 6d. a dozen wholesale, would 
give 25L as the value of the yield of a single tree. The plantations 
are generally young, and the trade in oranges and lemons is likely to 
assume large proportions ; but the growers will have to master the 
principles of drainage and manuring, and apply them, before they will 
be able to preserve their trees in a healthy state. 

A paper by Dr. George Bennett, F.L.S., " On the Introduction and 
Cultivation of the Orange in New South Wales," published in the New 
South Wales Catalogue for the Paris Exhibition, 1867, and in the 
Intercolonial Exhibition Official Eecord, Victoria, 1866, may be con- 
sulted with advantage. 

In the immediate vicinity of Sydney there exist orange groves as 
extensive and magnificent as any which have ever gladdened the eyes 
of travellers in Spain or the Azores ; the orange and other mem- 
bers of the citron family grow luxuriantly in the valleys of the Hunter 
and the Clarence; and, indeed, all along the coast districts of New 
South Wales, over a belt of country 300 miles in extent. Some of the 



444: 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



trees in the Parramatta orangeries, half a century old, have attained a 
height of 35 feet, and their branches a circumference of nearly 100 
feet. Sometimes a single tree will produce as many as 12,000 oranges 
in a year ; and the small variety known as the mandarin has borne 
4200 upon one tree during the season. During the month of October, 
oranges of every kind come into the Sydney market in enormous 
quantities ; and at that season 6000 dozen per week are often ex- 
ported to Melbourne alone. Lemon trees grow in the same orchards 
with the orange, and are so loaded with fruit as to require support. 
In this congenial climate every species of Citrus flourishes, the seed- 
less St. Michael's, the large and luscious " navel " orange, the little 
cumquat from China, and, equally well, the citron and the shaddock. 
From 50Z. to 1800/. are realized by the proprietors annually, as the 
incomes from the produce of their orange plantations, according to 
the extent of fruit-bearing trees. One grower, in the vicinity of 
Sydney, sold in a year for exportation 40,000 dozen, leaving 20,000 
dozen for home consumption. The price paid by the dealers on the 
ground for the fruit varies from 4<^. to 2s. per dozen, according to the 
kind and quality. 

Few persons visit Sydney without seeing, or at least without a 
desire to see, the Parramatta orangeries. The location is some 16 
miles from Sydney, and about the same distance from the sea in a 
westerly direction. As soon as a landing is effected there one finds 
that he is in a fruit country. Oranges abound everywhere. The 
goods traffic of Parramatta is made up largely of oranges. Orange 
boxes, full and empty, meet the eye in all directions. Every second 
man, woman, and child, are eating oranges. 

The orange is a surface-feeding plant. Where old trees are growing, 
the surface of the soil is an absolute network of fine rootlets. These 
rootlets should not be injured in cultivation ; hence the use of the 
Dutch hoe. To keep up the fertility guano is extensively used. As 
soon as a tree shows signs of languishing it gets a dose of guano- 
mixture, say a couple of pounds. This is spread around the tree on 
the surface of the land, and is then touched in with the hoe. Both 
trees and fruit, by this treatment, are beautifully clean. 

Concerning the varieties of oranges cultivated, seedlings are most 
in favour. Next to them are grafts upon the bitter orange stock. The 
lemon, as a stock, is considered the cause of deterioration in the 
orange, and the source of scale and other diseases. In selecting seed 
for sowing, the planter chooses the fullest and finest oranges ; he will 
have nothing to do with refuse fruit for such purposes. The seed is 
sown wide apart, that the young plants may have space. The system 
of raising seedlings in close rows is found to cramp their growing 
capabilities. All through there is a desire to get large, vigorous, 
perfect trees, and to that end it is not considered desirable to force 
them into early bearing. Seedlings take many years (five or six) to 
come into bearing, but they make the finest trees, and that is con- 
sidered all-sufficient for the Parramatta growers. 

South Australia. — In this colony the orange thrives wonderfully 
well. Whole acres of healthy trees, laden to the very ground with 
golden fruit, may be observed around Adelaide, and in many jjarts of 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



445 



the country to the north and south of the capital. In the month of 
June the market price of oranges in Adelaide is dd. a dozen. Every 
year somewhere about 50,000l. worth of oranges are exported from 
New South Wales and South Australia to Victoria and those of the 
other colonies where the cultivation of this agreeable fruit does not 
appear to be attended with much success. 

It is a good many years since the first orange trees were planted in 
South Australia, and although now there are considerable plantations, 
and every year numbers of young trees are coming into bearing, some 
time will elapse before the colonists are able to supply our own con- 
sumption of that most delicious of fruits. Thousands of pounds are 
sent away every year for Sydney oranges, without which not more than 
half the local demand that exists could be supplied. In regard to 
quality, the fruit produced by the local growers bears favourable 
comparison with that received from the sister colony, and this will be 
even more the case as the trees get older and our horticulturists 
become better acquainted with the proper methods of orange culture. 
Lieutenant Field, E.N., is said to have introduced the orange tree here 
early in 1837 ; others state that the first trees were planted by the late 
Mr. George Stevenson in the year 1840, or thereabout, at North Ade- 
laide, and they are, therefore, now about 35 years old. One of them 
has been known to yield 190 dozen of oranges, which is the largest 
authenticated yield taken from one tree in the colony, although several 
of those at Ashford are computed to bear 150 dozen and upwards. 
When the success of Mr. Stevenson's experimental planting became 
known, several other colonists, without much delay, set to work to 
secure themselves more or less extended plantations of a tree of such 
high European reputation as the orange, so that there are now a good 
many hundreds of trees in bearing ; but, for a variety of reasons, com- 
paratively few have attained anything like the productiveness for 
which the tree is credited in Spain and other parts of southern 
Europe, where trees are spoken of that yield some thousands of dozen 
of fruit in a year. 

United States. — Oranges are cultivated in Florida as easily and 
produce as quickly as the apple, and yield in full bearing from 1000 
to 2500 per cent, per acre to the owner on the ground at current 
prices, and with but trifling labour. The superior ripe fruit must 
end ere long in supplanting the half-ripe foreign fruit of which now 
there are nearly 1,000,000,000 of oranges and lemons imported into 
the United States annually, to New York alone 500,000,000, or half 
of the entire amount. On one property on the St. John's Eiver, the 
Sanford Grant, of 25 square miles, which was purchased in 1868 at 
about ^1 per acre, lands for orange culture have been sold of late 
years at an average of ^50 per acre, and up to ^150 per acre. Land 
purchased at ^250 an acre and planted in orange trees, has been 
sold three years after at ^1000 per acre. 

Green peas, strawberries, tomatoes, &c., can be grown the winter 
through in the open air, in profitable union with the orange culture. 
The banana, guava, and breadfruit also thrive there. 

Thirty or forty vessels are constantly engaged in carrying fruit to 
New York from the West India islands. They draw their supplies 



446 



PRODUCTS OP THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



from Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba, and the Bahamas. West Indian 
oranges are preferred for their flavour to those brought from Europe. 
They begin to arrive in October, and are most abundant in January 
and February; Mediterranean oranges are not received extensively 
until April or May. 

California. — Oranges and lemons, with more or less protection, gi'ow 
luxuriantly along and near the line of coast for 500 miles. 

In 1874 the State of Los Angelos had 90,057 orange trees, which 
furnish from 1000 to 3000 fruit each, and these sell readily at 2d. a 
piece. The tree takes 12 years to come to maturity, and the lemon 
16 years. Many of the latter trees yield 20Z. profit yearly to their 
owners. There are in the State of California 13,606 lemon trees. 

Bahamas. — The quantity of oranges shipped from the island of New 
Providence to the United States, in the season of 1875, was about 
2,000,000, in 20 vessels, 6 of which took 160,000 or more per load. 
The largest cargo was 320,000 (equal to 1280 barrels). The trade is 
conducted in schooners, with the exception of the generally smaller 
quantities that are carried away by the steamers which call at the 
port. Eight of the 20 vessels carrying oranges were steamers. As a 
barrel is stated to hold, on an average, 250 oranges, the number 
shipped to the States from Nassau is equivalent to 7594 barrels. The 
' Nassau Times ' states 2,000,000 were also shipped to the States 
direct from Abaco, Andros, Eleuthera, and other of the islands, 
and the total shipped from the group was about 4,000,000 fruit 
(equal to 16,000 barrels), estimating the average price at 30s. per 
1000, worth 6000Z. to the growers. Adding the smaller shipments to 
London, along with grape fruit and shaddocks, it believes the crop of 
the season would realize 7000Z. Extensive orange orchards having 
been lately planted in the islands, the trade is expected to soon double 
itself in quantity, increasing further by the greater productiveness of 
the trees as they approach full bearing; but with such increase a 
decrease in price is considered possible. 

In Tahiti there were, in 1874, 48,927 orange trees, which produced 
11,260,000 oranges, valued at 281,200 francs. 

The progress of the exports of oranges from the island is shown 
by the following figures : 

1849 151,000 186i 5,000,000 

1850 373,000 1873 4,500,000 

1851 3,043,000 1874 .. .. 5,000,000 

1852 6,670,000 

The orange trade between Tahiti and San Francisco is declining in 
consequence of the progress making in the culture, and the abundance 
of the produce, of Los Angelos, and the south of California. The 
price of Tahiti oranges has fallen from K60 to ^15 the 1000. 

Italy. — A large trade is carried on between New York and Italy 
in green fruit. In 1869 nearly 500,000 boxes of oranges, containing 
about 113,000,000, were received from Palermo and Naples. The 
steamers employed make the voyage in about 28 days, and carry from 
13,000 to 15,000 boxes. In the same year (1869), 243,790 boxes of 
lemons, in all 85,664,000 were received. The box of oranges contains 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



447 



on an average 226 fruit ; the chest, which is a box and a half, would 
have 340. 

A full-grown orange tree yields from 500 to 2000 fruit annually, 
and arrives at the bearing state in three or five years, as does the 
lemon tree ; both grow luxuriantly in most soils. The plantations (in 
the Mediterranean countries) are called gardens, and vary in size, the 
smallest containing only a small number of trees, and the largest 
many thousands. The fruit is gathered in baskets lined with canvas, 
the basket being held by a strap attached, and passed around the 
neck or shoulders. From the garden the fruit goes to the packing 
magazine, where it is removed from the boxes in which it was placed 
in the gardens, and repacked for shipment by experienced female 
packers, after having been carefully assorted by women, and wrapped 
in separate papers by young girls. As many as 500 persons (mostly 
women and children) are employed by some of the fruit growers in 
their gardens and magazines, in gathering, sorting, and packing for 
shipment, the wages paid them varying from 9 to 16 cents a day. In 
sorting, every fruit that wants a stem is rejected. The boxes are then 
securely covered, strapped, and marked with the brand of the grower, 
when they are ready for shipment. Twenty years ago, this trade 
was trivial in its commercial characteristics, or the inducements it 
offered to capitalists. Now it is progressing with giant strides into 
prominence, and is a considerable source of revenue to the Italian 
government. 

Sicilian lemons, which were formerly very plentiful, have been 
getting scarce of late years, and the island can with difficulty supply 
the demand for the United States, which is always large. The con- 
sequence is that prices have risen considerably, and essence of lemon, 
which used to be 8s. per lb., is now 19s. ; while boiled lemon-juice is 
nearly double its former price. Leghorn was the great seat of the 
candied citron trade, about 5000 boxes (1000 to 1100 tons) being 
exported in good seasons. But the trade has declined, as more sugar 
is lost in making the citron than the government allows drawback on. 

In the province of Salerno, Italy, there were gathered, in 1874, 100 
cwts. of citrons, 150 cwts. of mandarin oranges, at Pagani ; Monticorrini 
possesses 500 orange trees, which yield from 25 lbs. to 1 cwt. of 
fruit. Most of this fruit is sent to Eome, Naples, and Sorrento. 

The exports of oranges, bergamots, and lemons, are given in the 
Italian returns in kilogrammes of 2-1- lbs. The following will serve 
to indicate the course of trade : 



Kilos. 

1862 45,829,894 

1863 68,807,140 

1864 64,414,125 

1865 69,223,276 

1866 90,151,696 

1867 67,219,463 

1868 71,460,936 



Kilos. 

1869 88,098,468 

1870 77,701,673 

1871 88,784,000 

1872 87,526,000 

1873 83,241,000 

1874 70,403,000 

1875 94,236,000 



Spain. — The export of fruit forms an important branch of Spanish 
commerce ; Malaga is the centre of the dried fruit trade ; Seville, 
Valencia, and the Balearic islands, for oranges and citrons. The 



448 



THE PINE-APPLE. 



orange crop in the Balearic islands is beginning to show some signs 
of improvement, and it is hoped by the growers that the worst of the 
fatal disease which destroyed the trees is over, but it must be some 
years before the exports in this fruit return to their former figures. 

Citrons are exported from Malaga in their green state, in cases 
weighing 80 kilogrammes, half cases, and quarter cases, each fruit 
being carefully wrapped in paper. The shipments were in 1 871 
39,027 cases. They are chiefly shipped to the United States. The 
localities of production are Pizarra, Alora, and Coin, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Malaga. 7,876 cases of oranges were shipped from 
Malaga in 1871, and 267,628 kilos, of orange-peel, which is largely 
consumed in Holland, France, and Germany, chiefly for making 
liqueurs and syrups. 

The export of oranges from Spain is shown in the following return 
in thousands of oranges : 



1863 ,. , 


,, 156,722 


1870 , , 


.. 228,640 


1864 .. . 


101,397 


1871 


.. 445,220 


1865 , , 


133,897 


1872 


,. 581,610 


1866 ,. . 


, 189,333 


1873 ,. . 


.. 699,956 


1867 ,. . 


298,431 


1874 .. 




1868 ,. . 


, 188,512 


1875 


.. 574,000 


1869 .. . 


,, 272,052 





At Antwerp, in 1874, 39,639 boxes of oranges were received, and 
4058 boxes of citrons, chiefly from Valencia, Seville, and Palermo. 

Greece. — The Isle of Naxos, in Greece, ships to England more than 
half a million citrons annually, but could easily export several millions. 
They are collected and shipped as they ripen, the want of labour alone 
prevents their being preserved on the spot. The culture of citrons has 
been abandoned for cedrats. The gross exjDort of oranges and lemons 
from Greece has rather fallen off of late years. In 1870, 47,111,000 
were shipped, and, in the next three years, an average of 36,600,000 ; 
but in 1874 a little over 16,000,000 were shipped. 

THE PINE-APPLE. 

The Pine-apple [Ananassa sativa, Lindley) is one of the most 
esteemed of tropical fruits. Formerly great attention was given to 
forcing this fruit in England ; but the large importations now made 
at certain seasons of the year have increased the foreign supplies, 
and somewhat reduced the price of home-grown fruit, still it is 
brought to great perfection by our gardeners. 

The pine-apple is indigenous to South America and some of the 
West India islands, but has become so perfectly naturalized in many 
parts of the hot regions of Africa and Asia, that it has been thought 
to be likewise a native of those countries. It is now found in an 
almost wild state in most parts of India and Ceylon, and is abundant 
also in the Malay Peninsula, the Straits Settlements, China, and the 
islands of the Eastern Archipelago. 

The varieties cultivated are very numerous. In the Transactions 
of the Horticultural Society of London, for 1835, Mr. D. Munro 



THE PINE-APPLE. 



449 



gives a list of 52 kinds, wliicli fruited in the Society's garden at 
Chiswick ; of these the following may be enumerated : the queen, 
the sort generally grown by gardeners for the London market ; the 
Moscow queen an excellent variety ; the black Jamaica ; the brown 
sugar-loaf, Kipley, St. Vincent, and black Antigua, excellent and 
highly flavoured pines ; Enville, a handsome fruit, lemon queen, and 
white Providence, a handsome showy kind. The Trinidad" or La 
Brea pine, is a very fine large fruit, some reaching at times to 28 lbs. 
weight. 

Bahamas.-— The pine-apple is grown for export in the Bahamas in 
fields of large size, and of considerable extent. The cultivation of this 
fruit is carried on chiefly at Eleuthera, Abacos, and San Salvador, but 
the plants are also grown on some of the other islands. They are of 
two lands, the sugar-loaf, which is the best, and the Spanish or red pine, 
an inferior fruit. They are cut in a green state in order to keep during 
the voyage ; arriving in a sound state, they pay very handsome profits. 
In 1872, 590,665 dozens of pine-apples, valued at about 42,000Z., were 
exported. In 1874 the quantity shipped was valued at 40,066/., the 
sale of one cargo in London being as high as lOOOZ,., by one of 14 
vessels engaged in the trade. 

The cultivation of the pine-apple for export was formerly confined 
almost exclusively to the island of Eleuthera and its keys or islets, 
it being erroneously supposed that the soil there was alone adapted to 
the growth of the fruit ; but of late years the culture has been ex- 
tended to many of the other islands, as well as New Providence, 
where large quantities are grown and annually exported to various 
quarters, and, meeting with a remunerative sale, afford both grower 
and shippers very handsome returns. 

The simple mode of testing the capability of the soil for growing 
the pine-apple in the Bahamas is by running a knife down it in dry 
weather, and if any portion of the earth adheres to the knife, it is 
considered by the planter an evidence of the suitability of the soil. 

In the island of San Salvador there are fields of pine-apples, con- 
taining 25 to 60 acres in a block. In good seasons the yield is about 
800 dozen per acre. 

The season for shipments of pine-apples is from June 1 to July 
15. The average passage to London is 31 to 35 days. When ripe, 
they are liable to decomposition on the passage, and are, therefore, 
shipped in a green state, and ripen on board. Sometimes on arrival, 
if not sufficiently ripe, they are placed in warming rooms. Rainy 
and damp weather is very injurious to pine-apples, and if combined 
with a long passage, will render them worthless. The sugar-loaf 
pines are those chiefly shipped to London ; the scarlet pine, which is 
heavier, to New York, where, the passage being shorter, they aro 
shipped in bulk. 

The number of cargoes usually arriving each season is nine to 
eleven, and the vessels bring about 48,000 pine-apples each; 1300 
pines weigh about a ton. The hold of each vessel is fitted with three 
or four racks or battens of wood, supported by upright posts, thus 
forming three or four shelves or platforms, the entire length and 
depth of the hold, with the exception of the centre, where a passage 



450 



THE PINE-APPLE. 



is left from stem to stern for admission. The fruit is then placed, 
with a portion of its foliage on, to protect it from bruising, in layers 
of about four pines deep, upon racks, which are built to prevent the 
great pressure that would otherwise be upon the lower portion of 
the fruit. 

Within the last three or four years a steam factory for preserving 
pine-apples has been started at Nassau, New Providence. In 1872, 
494:5213 cans of pine-apples, valued at 8190Z., were preserved and 
exported, chiefly to the United States. In 1873 the value of the 
canned fruit shipped was 14,700Z. 

There is a large local demand for tinning it, and 113,000 dozen 
fruit were bought by one firm at Nassau, filling more than 1,000,000 
cans with sliced pine-apples. For canning, the pines are required 
fully ripe, and to average 15 inches in circumference, none to be 
less than the usual shipping sizes, 13 inches and 12 inches for first 
and second cutting scarlet, and 12 inches and 11 inches for sugar-loaf. 

The operation of peeling and slicing is performed on tables in the 
yards of the waterside premises, over which an awning is placed to 
protect the operators from the influence of the sun. About 20,000 
pine-apples are peeled and 12,675 cans filled in a day. The cans 
are carried to the warehouse on wooden trays (each containing 15), to 
be immersed in syrup. The tops of the cans are soldered on, and 
they are lowered in an iron framework, 400 and 500 at a time, 
into the steam boiling vats. After boiling, the cans are perforated at 
the top to allow the steam to escape. They are then hermetically 
sealed, and spread over the yard to cool. Each can of fruit, before 
the syrup is added, weighs 2 lbs. 

Mr. H. Spruyt, Professor of Agriculture at the School of Vilvorde, 
gives, in his ' J ardin Potager,' some very useful instructions as to the 
cultivation and selection of pine-apples in Europe. These will be 
found reprinted in the well-known periodical, ' Belgique Horticole,' 
for 1871, pp. 324-339. 

As it does not seed, this plant is proj)agated by suckers. Occasion- 
ally the crown of the fruit (the small aggregated mass of leaves) is 
planted ; but as this requires three years to arrive at fruit-bearing, 
and the suckers only take 12 or 18 months, the suckers are preferred 
for propagation. They should be planted in rich red soil, about 18 
inches apart, and weeded every three months. Careful cultivation 
greatly improves the size and flavom' of the fruit. In the Botanical 
Gardens of Singapore the enormous golden yellow fruit measure 
often 4 feet long by 9 inches wide, forming a remarkable contrast to 
the puny pine-apples which appear on the London fruit-stalls. A 
field of wild pine-apples, such aS cover many of the islands in the 
Straits of Malacca, is almost as inaccessible as a field of cacti, and 
the leaves, with their sharp points, are a formidable obstacle to the 
naked legs of the marauders who desire to obtain the fruit. 

New York now almost monopolises the trade in pine-apples from 
the West Indies. In 1854, 20 cargoes, averaging 80,000 dozen per 
ship, were imported there from Cuba, 20,000 dozen from St. Bar- 
tholomew, and 200,000 dozen from the Bahamas. The shipments 
from the Bahamas in the three years ending 1870 averaged 290,000 



THE PINE-ArPLE. 



451 



dozen, tlie great bulk of which went to the United States. In 1871 
there was a much larger shipment, amounting to 449,418 dozen, 
valued at 41,876/. 

The prices for pine-apples range from 3s. to 4s. per dozen, plan- 
tains and bananas, 2s. to 3s. the bunch, oranges 4s. 2<i. the 100. In 
1872 pine-apples in New York fetched 15 to 17 dollars the hundred. 

There are numerous varieties of pine-apples; one of the best is 
said to come from Guayaquil. Nichau, one of the Sandwich Islands 
group, produces an exquisite fruit, such as is rarely met with either in 
the East or the Pacific. In Europe some of the varieties cultivated 
are the Montserrat, Cayenne, Enville, and others. 

Although the culture of the fruit for export was at first restricted to 
the Bahamas, now Jamaica, St. Bartholomew, Trinidad, the Azores, 
and other quarters, have entered into the trade. The first shipments 
were made in 1842 to Liverpool from the Bahamas. 

The Jamaica Colonial Botanist, writing in 1875, reported that 
five acres of this valuable fruit were being planted, and two acres of 
this plantation would consist of the fine variety known as the Ripley. 
About sixty plants of the fine new varieties, viz. : Enville, prickly 
Cayenne, smooth Cayenne, Providence, and Charlotte Eothschild, 
introduced several years ago at Castleton, have been transferred to 
Hope; and the stock plants, numbering as many more, were to be 
removed from the same place shortly, as the climate of Castleton was 
found far too damp for the successful growth of this plant. It is 
remarkable that the Hope, and the locality immediately surrounding 
it, to the extent of a few square miles only, is the best adapted spot in 
Jamaica for their culture. This is attributable in a great measure 
to the peculiar conditions of climate, which are exactly suited to the 
development of the plant, and also in some measure to the suitability 
of the soil. On the extension of the plain to the south of Hope the 
climate is too arid. 

Notwithstanding the advantages indicated for the production of 
this fruit, as well as the existence of a fortnightly line of steamers 
plying between Kingston and America, where the demand for this 
and other fruits is unlimited, it is a matter of notoriety that the 
largest plantation of pines, as far as I am aware, is in extent not 
more than about a quarter of an acre, and probably the five-acre 
plantation will comprise an area equal to the whole extent under 
cultivation in the locality. Choice pines from this district are sold 
in Kingston at from 9s. to 12s. a dozen. The price realized in New 
York for the best Jamaica pines is upwards of Is. each. It will, 
therefore, be a moderate estimate if each pine is valued at 6d. In 
the Bahamas 20,000 suckers are usually planted to the acre ; but this 
appears excessive overcrowding, and as a consequence the plants and 
fruit must receive a constitutional check in their maturation. The 
distances apart, at which they are planted at Hope, are 3J feet be- 
tween the rows, and 2 J feet in the rows ; this gives 4840 plants to 
the acre. Out of this number it may be safely computed that from 
the first crop, IG or 18 months after planting, 4000 fruit will be 
obtained from each acre ; considerably more would be procured from 
the second and third years' crops from the suckers produced around 

2 G 2 



452 



THE PINE-APPLE. 



the parent plant, owing to sufficient space being provided for eacL 
plant. Now, estimating the return from each crop at 4000 pines, the 
result, at 6d. each, gives lOOZ. per acre. The pine fields ought to be 
cleaned five or six times a year, each cleaning costing say IZ. an acre, 
or 61. for the year ; and this constitutes the whole cultivation. 

Azores. — The pine-apple is now being cultivated with energy in St. 
Michael's. The produce of the recent cultivation having realized very 
considerable profits in the English market, and the quality being 
recognized as superior to those of foreign growth generally, con- 
servatories on a large scale have been constructed. The pine-apple 
of large size and of first quality now returns the grower from 16s. to 
20s. each, which is a remuneration of 35 to 40 per cent. ; and some 
choice specimens have been sold for as much as 60s. each. 

They attain to a greater size than those received from the West 
Indies, some weighing 12 to 13 lbs. having come to hand. Great care 
is taken in packing them, to secure their arriving in England in sound 
condition. The stalk is cut several inches below the fruit ; an ordinary 
large-sized flower-pot is then filled with mould, into which the stalk 
is inserted in such a manner that a casual observer would almost 
take it to be the way it was grown. Each pine is then put into a 
skeleton wooden case made just large enough to hold it, so that it can 
be safely handled without the risk of being bruised or injured, the 
pine itself being frequently wrapped round with paper as a further 
protection. 

India. — The pine-apple is said to have been introduced into India 
by the Portuguese in 1594, and now grows abundantly at the foot of 
the Himalayas and in Assam. It grows in thickets near Rangoon, while 
in the Tenasserim provinces the plant has become so naturalized as 
to appear indigenous. A bag made on the Kliasia hills, in Assam, of 
pine-apple fibre, was presented by Dr. Wallich, as far back as 1836, to 
the local Agri-horticultural Society. He mentions the enormous quan- 
tity of pines grown on that range, and that the plant appears as if it 
were quite a natural production. In the Tenasserim provinces the 
fruit is so abundant as to be sold in the months of June and July at 
2s. the boat-load. The natives do not seem to be acquainted with the 
fibre yielded by its leaves. Some attention is being given to the 
culture of this fruit in Queensland, as there were 86 acres returned 
under culture with it in 1876. 

Pine-apple Fibre. — The plant affords fine foliaceous fibres of prac- 
tical utility from the leaves, which are about 3 feet long by 1^ inches 
to 2 inches wide, strongly edged with spines. These may all be 
worked when the fruit is cut, the plant being perpetuated by shoots 
from its base. Two skeins of the pine-apple fibre were sent by the 
Court of Directors of the East India Company to the Society of Arts, 
for a report on their properties, so far back as January 1836, but 
the specimens were too small for a tibial of their tenacity. 

From some tests on the strength of this fibre when made into 
cordage, conducted at the arsenal of Fort William, on a rope of 
8J inches in circumference, it appears to be remarkably strong. The 
Government proof is, that a rope of this size should bear a weight of 
42 cwts. ; but it bore no less than 15 cwts. more, that is, it broke with a 



THE PINE-APPLE. 



453 



weight of 57 cwts., proving incontestably that pine-apple fibre possesses 
strength for cordage as well as fineness for textile fabrics. 

The pine-apple grows in great abundance in the Philippine Islands, 
but produces only a small dry fruit. We require, however, more pre- 
cise information to enable us to determine whether this is actually the 
plant escaped from cultivation. Mr. Perrotet, of Pondicherry, con- 
siders it a distinct species, and has named it Bromelia pigna, from the 
Spanish name pigna, or pina, signifying a cone. 

In preparing the fibre for weaving, the fruit is not allowed to ripen 
early ; its removal causes the leaves to increase considerably both in 
length and in breadth. A woman places a board on the ground, and 
upon it a leaf with the hollow side upwards. Sitting at one end of 
the board, she holds the leaf *firmly with her toes, and scrapes its outer 
surface with a potsherd, not with the sharp fractured edge, but with 
the blunt side of the rim ; and thus the leaf is reduced to rags. In 
this manner a stratum of coarse longitudinal fibre is disclosed, and 
the operator, placing her thumb-nail beneath it, lifts it up and draws 
it away in a compact strip; after which she scrapes again until a 
second fine layer of fibre is laid bare. Then turning the leaf round, 
she scrapes its back, which now lies upwards, down to the layer of 
fibre, which she seizes with her hand and draws at once, to its full 
length, away from the back of the leaf. When the fibre has been 
washed, it is dried in the sun. It is afterwards combed with a suit- 
able comb, like women's hair, sorted into four classes, tied together, 
and treated like the fibre of the lupi. In this crude manner are 
obtained the threads for the celebrated web nipis de pina, which is 
considered by experts the finest in the world. 

In the Philippines, where the fineness of the work is best understood 
and appreciated, richly embroidered cpstumes of this description have 
fetched about 200Z, each. 

This fine muslin-like fabric is embroidered by the nuns of the con- 
vents in Manila with great skill and taste. Beautiful specimens of 
this pina muslin were sent to the first London International Exhibi- 
tion, and to subsequent Exhibitions. It is sometimes, but erroneously, 
called grass-cloth. With a magnifier the fibres may be seen to be 
very numerous and fine, but not twisted at all, as in grass-cloth or 
the finest muslins and cambrics. One of the coarser fibres may be 
subdivided into threads of such fineness as to be barely perceptible, 
and yet sufficiently strong for any purpose. 

The manufacture of the pina fabric is carried on in the metropolitan 
province of Tondo. From the extraordinary facility with which the 
pine-apple is grown in the vicinity of the equator, it seems almost 
certain that by the application of European skill to the process of 
separating the fibre from the pulpy matter of the leaf, a valuable raw 
material composed of it might be obtained for the factories of Europe. 
The fibre by the hackling process could be rendered fit for the finest 
fabrics. The leaf consists of two diff'erent structures : the upper side, 
being of a soft or pulpy character, easy of removal ; and the under 
side, of a harder or more ligneous nature, and more difficult to 
separate. These two external bodies hold the fibre between them. 

In the Straits Settlements the Chinese labourers have taken kindly 



454 



THE PINE-APPLE. 



to this new and promising brancli of industry. The process they 
adopt in prej^aring the fibre appears to be much the same as that 
pursued in the Philippines, and is thus described in a Singapore 
paper : 

" The process of extracting and bleaching the fibre is exceedingly 
simple. The first step is to remove the fleshy or succulent side of 
the leaf. A. Chinese, astride on a narrow stool, extends on it in front 
of him a pine-apple leaf, one end of which is kept firm by being 
placed beneath a small bundle of cloth on which he sits. He then, 
with a kind of two-handled plane made of bamboo, removes the suc- 
culent matter. Another man receives the leaves as they are planed, 
and with his thumb-nail loosens and gathers the fibres about the 
middle of the leaf, which enables him' by one effort to detach the 
whole of them from the outer skin. The fibres are next steeped in 
water for some time, after which they are washed, in order to free 
them from the matter that still adheres and binds them together. 
They are now laid out to dry and bleach on rude frames of split 
bamboo. The process of steeping, washing, and exposing to the sun 
is repeated for some days, until the fibres are considered properly 
bleached. Without further preparation they are sent into town for 
exportation to China. Nearly all the islands near Singapore are 
more or less planted with pine-apples, which, at a rough estimate, 
cover an extent of 2000 acres. The enormous quantity of leaves that 
are annually sufiered to putrify on the ground, would su23ply fibre for 
a large manufactory of valuable pine cloth. The fibres should be 
cleaned on the spot. Fortunately the pine-apple planters are not 
Malays, but industrious and thrifty Bugis, most of whom have 
families. These men could be readily induced to prepare the fibres. 
Let any merchant offer an adequate price, and a steady annual supply 
will soon be obtained." 

The wild brother of the pine-apple has a larger leaf and longer 
fibre. This is the Bromelia sylvestris, or the B. jpinguin of the West 
Indies. It is known as istle, or ixtle, in Mexico, and pita and pinuella 
in Central America and Panama. These are probably two distinct 
species ; and there is a third, B. Jcaratas, which is hardly to be dis- 
tinguished from them. 

B. karatas is very common in the Antilles, growing in the most 
arid spots. It makes excellent mats, hammocks, and ropes. Almost 
all the fishing tackle of the American mercantile marine is made 
of it. 

The leaves are 5 to 8 feet long, and from 1 1 to 3 inches wide, thin, 
and lined with a fine tough fibre. The plant is self-propagating, and 
left to itself in an open field will soon cover the ground. In Central 
America, but particularly in Nicaragua, it is so abundant in the forests 
as to be a serious obstruction to man or beast. It is largely culti- 
vated in the district of Coatzacoalcos, in Mexico. It is indifferent to 
soil, climate, and season, while the simplicity of its culture, and the 
facility of extracting and preparing its products, renders it of universal 
use. From it is fabricated thread and cordage, mats, bagging, and 
clothing, and the hammocks in which the natives are born, repose, 
and die. The fibre is sometimes employed for brushes, and in paper- 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



455 



making ; its juice is used as caustic for wounds, and its thorns serve 
the Indians for needles and pins. 

The Bromelias are widely diffused throughout the tropics, growing 
everywhere in all varieties of soil. The plant is extensively used for 
hedges, for which its strong, straight, and spiny leaves admirably 
adapt it, and may be cultivated with a minimum of labour and cost, 
and in unlimited quantities. It is closely allied to the pine-apple, 
but the fruit is different, the ovaries failing to combine in one mass, 
as in the case of the pine-apple, the formation of which they well 
illustrate. 

The wild pine-apple grows in abundance at Gaboon, Grand Bassam, 
Assinee, Porto Novo, Liberia, and other parts of the West Coast of 
Africa. It is employed for making nets, hammocks, superior cordage, 
and fabrics. 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 

Among the splendid, varied, and profuse vegetation, with which 
tropical countries abound in so infinite a degree, the magnificent, her- 
baceous plant, the Plantain, usually attracts particular notice ; and, 
together with the cocoa and other palms, are the productions of the 
vegetable kingdom, which adorn the picture of the artist when de- 
picting the scenery of the tropics. The broad leaves overhang grace- 
fully the succulent huge stem of the plant ; whilst just at their bases, 
huge clusters of fruit, of yellow, red, and other colours, contrast har- 
moniously with their shining, dark green foliage. 

The size this splendid plant usually attains is 8 feet, but I have 
seen them reach an elevation of 12 and even 15 feet, with a diameter 
of stalk from 1 foot to 2 feet. 

The plants of the Musa tribe, though they cannot, like the palms, 
be called the princes of the vegetable kingdom, rank first in the series 
of endogenous plants, and are without exception the grandest of the 
herbaceous vegetables, whether their gigantic size, the breadth and 
beauty of their foliage, the abundance and quality of their fruit, or the 
surpassing grandeur of their flowers, be considered. They are devoid 
of true stems, but form a spurious stem, often of considerable thick- 
ness, from the leaves as they rise from the root stocks, being sheathing 
at their base, encircling each other, and enveloping layer within layer 
the slender flower and fruit stalk. They are not confined to the 
tropics, but approach in many parts towards the cooler latitudes of 
either hemisphere. The plantain may be seen laden with its enor- 
mous masses of wholesome pleasant food in the mild climate of 
Madeira ; but its yield of fruit is dependent on, and varies with, the 
temperature of the climate in which it is grown. In this respect it is 
a striking instance of the increasing bounteousness of nature as we 
recede from the poles and approach the Equator, and is a mani- 
festation of the beneficence of the Creator. 

The plantain is universal. It is as the Penates — the household god 
of the labourer's cottage. It grows everywhere on the mountain sides, 
and might be cultivated to any extent. Hitherto its value has been 



456 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



unknown. Its fruit has been consumed as a substitute for bread, but 
for all other purposes it has been valueless. 

The plantain is, to many thousands of people, what rice is to the 
Hindoos, rye flour to the Muscovite, and wheaten bread to the English- 
man ; it is their main dependence (in more senses than one), their 
staff of life, grown everywhere in small quantities thi'oughout the 
tropics. 

Those who have never lived in tropical countries are unable to fully 
appreciate its value. Some look even with indifference upon the 
gigantic clusters of this fruit, as they are unloaded from the steamers 
and sailing vessels ; and yet they deserve special attention and 
admiration, for they are to the inhabitants of the torrid zone what 
bread and potatoes are to those of the north temperate zone. 

The plantain is one of the most striking illustrations of tropical 
fertility and exuberance. A plant which, in a northern climate, 
would require many years to gain strength and size, is there the pro- 
duction of ten or twelve months, The native of the south plants a 
shoot or sucker, taken from an old tree, in a moist and sandy soil, 
along some river or lake ; it develops with the greatest rapidity, and 
at the end of ten months the first crop may be gathered, though the 
cluster and bananas are yet small ; but the following year one cluster 
alone will weigh some sixty or more pounds. Even in the tropics they 
are always cut down w'heu green, as they lose much of their flavour 
when left to ripen or soften on the tree. 

It is remarkable that the plantain and banana should be indigenous, 
or at all events cultivated for ages both in the Old and the New World. 
Numerous South American travellers describe some one of these plants 
as being apparently indigenous articles of food among the natives ; 
thus showing (if the plantain be a hybrid) a communication between 
the tropics of America, Asia, and Africa, long before the time of 
Columbus. (A hybrid, or mule plant, is obtained by impregnating 
the stigma of one species with the j)ollen of another species, but of the 
same genus, and what is called a cross breed is the impregnation of one 
variety with the jDollen of another variety of the same species.) The 
older waiters on the colony of Guiana, as Hartsinck, Bellin, and others 
consider the plantain to be a native. It is worthy of remark that Sir 
E. Schomburgk, during his travels found a species of large edible 
plantain far in the interior. The plantain is said to have been trans- 
ported from Guinea to the Canary Isles, and from thence to the West 
Indies. It seems to have migrated with mankind from Asia into the 
numerous islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean, where it is universal 
in those which are inhabited, and has degenerated into numerous 
varieties. It spreads from the Islands of the Pacific and of the Indian 
Archipelago, northward to China and Jaj)an, and along the Malayan 
Peninsula to Chittagong. From Chittajong northward, along the 
jungly base of the Himalayas, there is a suitable climate as far as 
30^ N., for the Musa nepalensis is found in Nepaul. The most northern 
latitudes where the plantain is cultivated are Japan, Madeira, the north 
of Africa, Syria as far as 34°, and ]3arts of the south of Europe. 
The edible plantain bears at an elevation of 4590 feet in a temjie- 
rdture of 61° Fahr., and requires 15 months to mature, but its culti« 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



457 



vation is little benefit in so higli an altitude. It is the same with the 
cassava root. The cane at 3480 feet altitude gives no sugar, and 
indigo at 4860 feet affords no colouring matter. We may here remark 
that it was on these and similar facts that Boussingault based his 
theory, which is that the time required by a plant to arrive at maturity 
is as the inverse ratio of the temperature; therefore knowing the 
mean temperature of any place, and the number of days which a plant 
takes to ripen, the time required at any other point, more or less 
elevated, can be ascertained. 

Finlayson gives the following interesting information respecting 
the wild plantain tree, found on the island of Pulo Ubi, off the 
southern extremity of Cambodia. 

" We had," he says, " the good fortune to find that splendid herba- 
ceous plant in flower : unlike, however, that luscious and most deli- 
cious fruit raised by the hand of man, the fruit of the wild plantain 
contains scarce any pulp whatever. Its leathery sheath encloses 
numerous series of large black seeds, attached to a pithy, central stem, 
and immersed in a gummy substance resembling bird-lime. 

" It appeared, by our systematic works, that the seeds of this most 
useful plant have been but rarely seen by botanists ; hence doubts had 
been expressed upon the subject. In none of the cultivated varieties 
are there any seeds discoverable ; though, at times, we may observe 
minute black points in the pulp, disposed in longitudinal rows. 
These are, probably, the feeble traces of seeds not yet quite extin- 
guished by cultivation, the black perisperm being the last to dis- 
appear. The seeds were numerous, covered with a thick, black, 
brittle shell, and as larje as those of the custard apple, but of a more 
irregular shape. 

" There is no necessity to refer, as Willdenow does, the origin of 
all the cultivated varieties, and of all the species enumerated by bota- 
nists to the Musa Troglodytarurfi, a native of the Molucca islands, as 
the parent stock. Our specimens accorded with the descriptions given 
of Musa sapientum. The seeds were in all respects perfect, and appa- 
rently capable of propagating the plant. Indeed its existence on these 
islands, so rarely frequented by man, and altogether unfit for culti- 
vation, can be accounted for on no other principle than the fertility of 
the seeds." — (Journal of a Mission to Siam, dc.) 

The banana is like the plantain, but its stalk is marked with purple 
spots, and its fruit is shorter and rounder. There are 20 varieties of 
plantain in Tenasserim, 10 in Ceylon, and 30 in Burmah. From Asia 
it has been introduced into the West Indies and South America, and 
into England in 1680. It is more productive than wheat. In South 
America the fruit is dried and preserved, while the flour is separated 
and made into biscuits. The fruit can be kept for 20 or 30 years 
owing to the sugar in it ; 100 parts of the fresh fruit contains 27 of 
dry nutritive matter ; the potato gives 25. In the plantain fruit out 
of 100 parts there are of — 



Water . . . . 14 parts. 

Starch .. .. 67i „ 

Gum .. .. 44 „ 

Celhilar fibre . . 4f „ 



Sugar . . , . 2 parts. 

Oil 1 „ 

Albumeu .. ^ „ 

A«h .. 41 „, 



458 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



A sucker attains maturity in a year ; each produces a bunch of fruit 
weighing from 25 to 90 lbs. One tree gives 4 lbs. of fibre ; 600 lbs. 
weight of fibre might be produced annually from each acre of plan- 
tains. The plantain is used as a nurse or shade to the betel vine and 
other plants. The top of the stem yields a juice good for making ink. 
The fibre can furnish material for paper and canvas ; thus the plan- 
tain gives food for body and mind. The Chinese use the young shoots 
for paper-making ; 1607 square feet of ground yield 4000 lbs. of 
nutritive substance from plantains, which will support 50 persons ; the 
same space planted with wheat will support only 2. 

It is in season all the year round. The Dacca plantain is 9 inches 
long ; in Madagascar the plantains are as large as a man's forearm. 
In the mountains of the Philippines a single fruit or two is said to be 
a load for a man. All the large ones requii-e, like potatoes, to be 
roasted. 

Twelve months after planting 70 lbs. of fruit are often obtained 
from a single plant. The south of Spain is the only part of Europe 
in which the banana is cultivated in the open air.* 

There are 17,000 acres under plantain gardens in the Madras Presi- 
dency, chiefly in Tinnevelly. 

The name of plantain and banana is very indiscriminately applied 
in many countries where they are grown, but, properly speaking, the 
term plantain is restricted to the larger plants, the fruits of which 
are usually eaten cooked, while those of the banana, when ripe, being 
more saccharine, can be eaten raw as fruit. The French call the 
plantain " banane," andlhe bananas "bacoves" or fig bananas. Gene- 
rally the pulp contains no seeds, but in Akyab and the Arracan 
coast there exists a species which is full of seed. These are large, 
black, and not unlike the cotton seed. The flavour, also, is very 
inferior. 

The Poyat, or Martinique banana, grows to a very large size in 
some districts, and would possibly yield more fibre than the common 
plantain. 

I notice in a recent Trinidad paper the fact stated that, in former 
years, 7^ million plantains were annually imported from the Spanish 
Main to supply the capital, 9 millions being required in Port of Spain 
alone. Although the foreign imports are now less, yet the increased 
extension of the cultivation is recommended. 

The establishment of plantain walks for the annual production of 
9 or 10 millions fruit will necessarily be a work of time, as plants for 
any great number of stools require time and outlay to collect and carry. 
A thousand plantain suckers take some gathering, and are not as easily 
carried as tobacco seed, of which one can put as much as will sow 
several acres in an envelope. It must take years to establish any 
extensive plantain cultivation. A bunch of plantains of the kind 
commonest here and on the Main (commonly called horse plantain) 
does not consist of more than 20 to 25 fruit, and as it might not be 
safe to reckon on more than 3 bunches fit to gather from the stool in 
a year (generally stated at 4 during the 12 months), one cannot 
reckon on an acre, with the stools planted at 10 feet apart, producing 
* Long's ' Plants of Bengal.' 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



459 



more than 30,000 to 40,000 plantains per annum, as at such distance 
the acre will hold but 430 or 440 stools. 

It will be seen that it would not recj^uire more than 220 ^cres to yield 
the 7 million plantains wanted, nor more than 310 acres, in full yield, 
to give the 10 millions that could be disposed of for ordinary con- 
sumption. We say ordinary consumption, because there are other 
applications of the plantain, by which it could be converted into an 
article of commerce commanding a sale abroad, the amount of which 
is entirely uncertain, but might easily exceed the local demand for the 
raw article if it fell in with the popular taste in northern countries. 
These applications have not yet been tested, so far as we are aware, 
on a commercial scale, but they undoubtedly open a great possible 
futm-e for what old Dampier called " the King of Fruit." 

With regard to its geographical distributions, the plantain is 
an object of cultivation over an immense zone, which extends, 
although not continuously, from 38° N. to almost 35° S. latitude. A 
mean temperature of from 18° to 20° Cent, suits it best, provided, 
however, the winters are not too rigorous. In Cuba the small 
species are cultivated in situations where the thermometer falls to 7° 
Cent., and even sometimes almost to zero. The Musa sajpientum is 
satisfied with 18° of mean heat, but Musa paradisiaca requires at least 
20° to 22°, and that, too, only in the climates of equatorial regions. 
It produces the best crops in a temperature of 24° to 28°, and yields 
no fruit at 20°, nor at an altitude of more than 3000 feet in the 
southern latitudes from to 10° (Humboldt). 

In the Cordilleras of New Granada the banana is productive at an 
altitude of nearly 6000 feet, but according to Boussingault, the fruit 
never ripens at an elevation of 7000 feet. Schomburgk has seen the 
Musa bearing fruit in British Guiana at 3000 feet above the level of 
the sea ; the fruit was magnificent, and would have borne comparison 
with the finest from Porto Rico. In Hindostan the Musa is culti- 
vated at an elevation of 3700 to 5000 feet, at Kumaon and Gurhwal, 
in the middle of the Himalaya, chain. Major Munro found a wild 
species at Khondah (Neilgherries), nearly 7000 feet above the level 
of the sea. Dr. Madden also discovered an indigenous Musa in the 
Himalaya range, to the north of the province of Assam. 

Asia is, as we have seen, the native country of the banana plant ; 
many varieties are also found in the Indian Ai'chipelago, China, 
Cochin China, and Hindostan. On one side of the continent they are 
spread over Polynesia, and, lately, in Australia ; and on the other, in 
Persia, in Beloochistan, in Asia Minor, as far as Mount Taurus, and 
in Arabia. In Africa the banana has not the same importance as in 
Asia and America, except sometimes in Guinea and Madagascar, 
where many indigenous Musas are cultivated. It is not to be found 
on the eastern coast, but only in gardens higher up the country, in 
Abyssinia, Nubia, and Egypt. The northern part of Africa also 
possesses the plant, which has been carried thither by the victorious 
Arabs, but no great attention has ever been paid to it in that region. 
When we pass into Europe, we see the banana appear in some gardens 
in Greece, in Sicily, and especially in the southern provinces of Spain. 
It was introduced into the last-named country by the Moors, who 



460 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



cultivated it extensively in the neighboiirliood of Armenia. The 
eastern parts of Portugal, whose marine and equal climate is singu- 
larly favourable to the naturalisation of tropical plants, enumerate 
even the Musa sapientum among their garden productions. The Musa 
Cavendishii and Musa sinensis have also been successfully introduced 
into that country. Equatorial America has immense resources in the 
banana ; Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Upper and Lower Peru, 
Brazil, the Guianas, and the Antilles, more especially Haiti and 
Cuba, cultivate this plant on a vast scale. The banana exists still in 
Louisiana, Florida, and the other Southern States, where efforts have 
been made for some time to extend its cultivation. 

A warm and rather moist soil is best suited to the propagation of 
the banana, that is to say, a soil in which there is a plentiful admix- 
ture of clay, as in the immense valleys of America and Asia, and in 
the grassy plains of Malaysia. It seems to like the neighbourhood 
of the sea, and an atmosphere impregnated with salt, for it is in that 
kind of situation that it appears to prosper best. In Egypt it grows 
well in the nitrous plains of Eosetta. In the majority of countries 
where the plantain is grown no manure is necessary, owing to the 
decomposition of the stems and the alluvial nature of the soil. But 
in other less favourable soils manure may be requisite to maintain a 
vigorous and constant production. A plantain walk is usually 
established a little before the rainy season commences. The soil is 
loosened to a foot or less, so as to receive the young plants. It is 
thoroughly cleansed of all weeds and stones which may be there. 
Then shoots or suckers are taken from the parent stem, of from two 
to three feet high, their bulbs being divided from the principal bulb 
by means of a mattock. These slips are cut about eight inches above 
the neck, and placed" in a slanting direction in the prepared holes, and 
covered with earth, leaving in sight only about two inches. The 
length of time which elapses between the planting of the slips and 
their fruiting depends on climate, situation, and variety of species. 
Thus Musa sapientum fruits in the fifth and sixth month, whilst the 
Musa par adisiaca requires ten months, and sometimes even a longer 
time than that. Two varieties of the fig banana, the canaya and gengi, 
produce their fruit in five months. In mountain districts, the fruit 
of the large banana ripens only at the end of eighteen or twenty 
months of cultivation ; some varieties ■ indeed, in such position, take 
three years to produce fruit. The leaves of the banana afford a 
useful shelter, and it is therefore of great service in tropical agricul- 
ture to young plants, which would otherwise suffer severely from the 
excessive heat of the sun. 

In British Guiana, the plantains are set six yards apart, and yams, 
maize, cocos or canes planted in the intervals. 

The cultivation of the plantain is one of the easiest to undertake, - 
and at the same time one of the most profitable ; when once it has 
been planted, there is nothing more to do except realize the harvest, 
for the trifle of manure bestowed upon the soil two or three times a 
year is nothing in comparison with the labour necessary in Europe 
to bring crops to perfection. As these plants renew themselves with 
offshoots at different degrees of development, it follows that each 
plantation offers at the same time rows whose branches are laden 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



461 



with ripe fruit ; rows whose branches are fall of blossom, and young 
offsets, which give promise of future plenty. In the best situation, 
three rows are counted to each cluster of bananas, sometimes four ; 
in general they obtain five rows in two years. There is no culture 
that can be undertaken with more confidence than that of the 
banana," says M. Boussingault, " for if climatic influences should 
sometimes have a prejudicial effect on the crop, they could never 
completely destroy the prospect of a harvest, as the certainty would 
always remain of that to be obtained from the surviving and stronger 
growing offshots or suckers. No other vegetable production presents 
similar advantages — not even the maize, that crop so precious in the 
warmer regions of the globe. 

" The enormous return from this plant assures to the inhabitants 
of tropical countries an abundant means of sustenance, and one that 
can be obtained at a low price, as it is acquired without difficulty. 
But in consequence of the facility with which, thanks to the banana, 
the means of sustenance can be obtained, as the proverb runs, ' Per- 
sonne ne meurt de besoin en Amerique,' the inhabitants have a great 
excuse for being indolent, which they are already inclined to be on 
account of the climate." 

The large banana is gathered at three different stages. At a fourth 
part of its maturity, it is rather milky and contains much starch. If 
it is roasted in ashes, or boiled in water, it forms a very nourishing 
food, capable of being substituted for bread. If cut at three-fourths 
of its growth, it is less nourishing, but contains more sugar ; in this 
state, it is eaten as an accompaniment to meat. Lastly, when the 
fruit is perfectly ripe, all the starch is changed into gum or sugar ; it 
then developes an acid principle : in this state it is eaten either raw 
or in the form of fritters. The banana fig, which is eaten when per- 
fectly ripe, is rather a fruit than a nutritive substance ; it is soft, full 
of sugar, melting, possesses a powerful perfume, and forms a principal 
dish for dessert in tropical regions. In some countries they cut them 
while they are green, and hang the bunches in their houses to 
ripen. To hasten their ripening in China they are covered with rice, 
or even with lime. The Chinese also eat the flowers of the banana 
pickled with vinegar. 

The banana when plucked keeps fresh for a week ; at the end of that 
time it becomes yellowish and more sugary ; in twelve or fifteen days 
it begins to decompose and ferment. In America there are two 
methods of preserving the banana ; the first, used when the fruit is 
green, produces banana farina ; the other, when the fruit is completely 
ripe produces the platano-pasado of the Mexicans, or the platano 
curado of the province of Neyba, New Granada. 

There is a method of utilizing this plant, made use of in South 
America, but it is defective in a great many points as compared with 
that already noticed. They grate the fruits, having first peeled 
them, squeeze the moisture out in a press, bake them, like manioc, 
in an oven, and by this means obtain a coarse kind of flour. But 
the nutritive property of this is inferior to that prepared from the 
dried slices, for no doubt the pressure which extracts the moisture 
expels also the soluble albumen, and other nutritious qualities. 

The next method of preserving the banana very closely resembles 



462 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



that commonly used in the preparation of dried fruits, such as figs, 
prunes, &c. The time chosen is when the fruit is quite ripe, and its 
skin has become of a yellow colour, shaded with black. In Mexico 
in the " terras culientes," and particularly in Michoacan and Xafesco, 
bananas are dried simply by exposure to the atmosphere. According 
to Colonel Colquhoun, they proceed in this manner : the fruits are 
exposed to the sun in bundles, and when they begin to wrinkle they 
are peeled, for the skin, if left on, causes a disagreeable flavour. They 
are kept for some time, until an efflorescence of sugar appears on their 
surface, as on dried figs and prunes. They are then pressed in 
masses of about 25 lbs. each, and wrapped in leaves of the banana 
plant, or else kept in boxes. Of course, these methods can only be 
adopted in countries where the climate is very dry. In others, 
recourse must be had to artificial means, which are unfortunately 
more costly. 

There are three distinct ways in which the ripe banana may be 
dried. 1st, exposing the fruit to an atmosphere of sulphuric acid 
gas before the dessication is begun. 2nd, boiling rapidly very ripe 
fruit in water which contains sulphate of lime. 3rd, by boiling it in 
syrup. By either of these, the albumen and caseine of the fruit 
coagulates, and the tendency of the banana to decay and ferment is 
stopped at a period favourable for dessication. Experience shows 
that the second method is the best to employ ; in moist climates, 
without this precaution, the fruit, instead of drying, becomes damp. 
To expose the fruit to the sun's rays after boiling, trays of bamboo, 
as in Mexico, or of anything which permits the free action of the air 
and light on the fruit, may be used. If rain falls, they are dried in 
a furnace, which must be left open, otherwise the bananas bake instead 
of drying. The heat, also, must be moderate. The bananas, when 
dry, are pressed and packed in boxes. The fruit thus prepared is a 
very good article of food, resembling figs, and its abundance and 
easy preparation would render it a cheaj) one. 

Some of the fruit of the plantain was exhibited at the Great Exhi- 
bition of 1851, that had been in this country for sixteen years. It 
was still in an eatable state, and had much the taste of dried figs. The 
quality of the fibre is finest before the ripening of the fruit. The cost 
of keeping up a plantain estate in Demerara would be about 61. per 
acre ; and the produce of the stem alone for fibre, if cut every eight 
months, would be 1400 or 1500 good stems every cutting, or 4500 
stems in two years. The average quantity of fibre per stem may be 
put at 4 lbs., or 9000 lbs. per annum per acre, at a cost of 61. ; and 
add 4Z. for the preparation for market, the cost would not exceed 
^d. per lb. In this way (by the succession of suckers) the production 
of the plantain is enormous ; and Humboldt's statement, once thought 
exaggerated, that an acre of good land in the tropics, covered with 
the plantain, would yield as much nutritious food as 144 acres of 
wheat, is no longer denied or doubted. 

The plantain is noted for the abundance and excellence of the 
nutritive food which it yields. The fruit is served up both raw and 
stewed; slices fried are also considered a delicacy. Plantains are 
sometimes boiled and eaten with salt meat, and pounded and made 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



463 



into puddings, and used in various other ways. In their ripe state 
these fruits contain much starchy matter. 

A few bananas are occasionally imported to England, but they arc 
seldom received in such perfection as to form an estimate of their 
flavour ; nor are they at the best of times much appreciated. A 
considerable trade is, however, carried on in bananas between New 
York and Aspinwall, the Atlantic seaport of the Panama railway. 
Not a steamer leaves without taking from 5000 to 8000 bunches, and 
during the year something like 200,000 bunches (or 800 tons) of 
bananas are exported to New York. They are grown in plantations 
or walks, seven or eight miles from the town. After the small bush 
is cut down, fire is run over the land, and the suckers are planted 
irregularly all through, six or seven feet apart. The kinds princi- 
pally cultivated are the doubloon, the China, and the fig. The last 
most resembles the honey banana of Jamaica. The plantain is not 
exported, but is only used for home consumption. The Indians 
manufacture a kind of spirit from the plantain. When the fruit 
is fully ripe, the Indian gathers it, peels ofi:' the skin and throws the 
fruit into a dish, where it remains for some days. After fermenting, 
he draws ofi:' the liquor and puts it in his home-made bottle for future 
use. The liquor, or as the Indian terms it, " rum," is said to be 
strong and very intoxicating. When drunk to excess the efifects 
remain for two or three days. 

In Jamaica, the banana seldom comes to maturity in less than twelve 
or fom'teen months ; but in Aspinwall, six or eight months are 
sufficient. In Jamaica, when a sucker is planted, it only comes uj) 
single and bears but one bunch of fruit ; but in Aspinwall a sucker 
comes up with several shoots, and these bear in succession one after 
another. The bunch of fi'uit is cut with as long a stalk as possible, 
for the convenience of carrying, and it is always cut green before it 
ever begins to ripen, or the fruit would rot before they arrived at 
New York. They pay a duty of 10 per cent, in America. 

Plantain Meal. — The flour of the plantain, known in many parts 
of the West Indies as conquintay, is highly esteemed, and extensively 
used as a food for invalids and children. It is decidedly superior 
in these respects to arrowroot, in consequence of its nourishing and 
strengthening qualities. But it is scarcely known at all in Europe, 
where I believe it would be greatly prized. It is prepared by stripping 
off the husk of the plantain, slicing the core, and drying it in the sun. 
When thoroughly dry it is powdered and sifted. It has a fragrant 
odour, acquii'ed in drying, somewhat resembling fresh hay or tea. It 
is largely employed as the food of infants and invalids. As food for 
children and convalescents it would, probably, be much esteemed in 
Europe ; and it deserves a trial on accoimt of its fragrance, and its 
being exceedingly easy of digestion. In respect of nutritiveness it 
should have a preference over all the pure starches on account of the 
proteine compounds it contains. The plantain meal would, probably, 
be best and freshest were the sliced and dried plantain cores ex- 
ported, leaving the grinding and sifting to be done in Europe. The 
flavour of the meal depends a good deal on the rapidity with which 
the slices are dried ; hence the operation is only fitted for dry weather, 



464 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



unless, indeed, when there was occasion for it, recourse were Lad to 
a kiln or stove. 

Plantain starch cannot enter into commercial competition with 
other starches. The difficulty of separating it from the rest of the 
constituents of the fruit, its unusual colour, and the high value of the 
fruit in its other applications, will, probably, prevent its being con- 
sidered but as a curiosity. The colour resists the free application 
of chlorine water. A fev^^ particles of the starch imder the micro- 
scope show irregularly oval corpuscles, and some oblong, varying 
from to the of an inch in diameter, and, in most cases, the 
of an inch in breadth. A few globules, almost spherical, are 
observed, measuring the ^-§^0" inch. As the colour, however, 

is sufficient to identify this starch, no aid from measurements or 
shape of its globules is required. 

Vinegar from the plantain is obtained by a very simple process. 
When there is a temporary glut in the market, the surplus, when 
yellow, is thrown into baskets, supported on open barrels. The fruit 
liquifies and drops into the receiver, where the juice ferments and 
speedily becomes vinegar. No water is used in the process. 

Let us now glance at some of the uses of the stalk. The stem is 
filled with an abundant pith, enveloped in fibrous cases, and containing 
much starch. This boiled might serve as human food ; animals like 
it very much. Cattle, and especially the pig, relish this kind of 
sustenance. 

A curious fact connected with the banana plant is that the sap is so 
abundant that it escapes whenever an incision is made into the outer 
coating. The sap has been examined and analysed by Fourcroy, Vau- 
quelin, and Boussiugault. According to the last writer it contains 
tannin, gallic acid, acetic acid, chloride of sodium, salts of lime, potass, 
and aluminium. If cotton, linen, or flax, are dipped into it whilst 
perfectly fresh, it deposits a colouring matter of a yellowish grey, 
which adheres to the fibre. When exposed to the air it becomes 
agitated, and precipitates floccules of a dirty rose colour. This pheno- 
menon is produced by the oxygen contained in the atmospliere. The 
banana plant is used in Annam, or Cochin China, and the Philippines, 
in the process of refining sugar, Masses of raw sugar are placed in 
layers 1 inch thick and 10 wide, which are covered by a layer of stalk 
of this plant, cut into small pieces. According to Grosie, however, it 
is the ashes of the 3Iusa pnradisiaca, which they use in this process. 
The aqueous liquor that flows from the stalks filtrates through the 
sugar, carrying away with it all impurities, and leaving the sugar in a 
crystallized state. The sap is also of great value as a mordant in 
dyeing; the Malays, by means of it, fix the green colour of the BoVi- 
clios Lahlah. When employed alone the sap of the cochon banana 
communicates to fabrics a purple tint, which is durable. The sap has 
also medicinal properties. It is used in St. Domingo to stop internal 
and external hoemorrhage, as tannin is in other countries ; and at 
the Philippines, to heal a species of venereal disease very common in 
the province of Bisayas. 

In Cuba, Mr. Eussell tells us, " The plantain, or banana, is seen 
growing over the whole island, affording shade and shelter to every 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



465 



cabin, however small or mean. Tliougli it wants the grace and beauty 
of the cocoanut palm, its form is peculiarly tropical, none more so. 
In good soil it grows to the height of 20 feet. It is about 9 inches in 
diameter at the base, tapering towards the top, when it sends out long 
broad leaves, and also a short stalk bearing a heavy cluster of fruit 
(which, in Jamaica, I have known to ^weigh as much as 70 lbs.) The 
plantain requires to be renewed on good soil only once in 40 years. 
Little care is bestowed upon its culture, being planted in check rows 
12 feet apart. The ground usually receives two ploughings during 
the season. It is not unfrequently seen growing, however, on the 
shallow soils of the coral formation, where there is little for it to fix 
its roots, except the crevices of the rock. It is largely used by all 
classes, and commonly pulled when green, and cooked with grease or 
oil. In Jamaica it is roasted in the wood ashes of the kitchen lire, 
and used as a substitute for bread, and it is also boiled and used as a 
potato. In this form it is seen on the tables of both rich and poor. 
For, although the plantain cannot support the strength of the over- 
worked labourer, it furnishes, when the work is light, a most whole- 
some and delicious food. ... I rode through a field of plantains 
attached to an estate, of 60 acres in extent." 

The plantain, or banana, is generally admitted to be a better 
developed plant in the West than in the East Indies. All hot 
climates seem equally congenial to its growth. It is considered by 
the best authorities to be a native of the East Indies, and other parts 
of the Asiatic continent, and probably of Africa. Baron Humboldt 
has, however, suggested that several of the species of Musa may, 
possibly, be confounded under the names of plantain and banana, and 
that some of these may be indigenous to America. Linnseus con- 
jectured that the Bihai {Heliconia liwnilis), a native of Caraccas, which 
produces fertile seeds, is the stock of the plantain. 

Dr. Eoyle, whose opinion is more reliable on the subject, agrees 
with Mr. Brown in thinking " nothing has been advanced to prevent 
all the cultivated varieties being derived from one species, Musa sapi- 
entum (also coiWQdiMusaparasidiaca, the banana), of which the original 
is the wild Musa described by Dr. Eoxburgh as grown from seed 
received from Chittagong." 

The banana and plantain form a large portion of the food of the 
natives in New Caledonia. Before the French occupation they had 
but four species — M. fehi, Bert ; M. paradisiaca, Linn. ; M. discolor, 
Hort ; and M. oleracea, Nob. Musa sinensis and sapientum, introduced 
only a few years, have begun to be extensively cultivated among the 
tribes. 

The plantain loves moist situations, and requires, for perfect deve- 
lopment, a rich soil. The labourers plant it much too closely ; it 
should he allowed, from root to root, a space of 14 feet good. The 
first year's crop thereby may be reduced, but the cultivator will have 
his reward in the subsequent yield. Besides, in wide planting, the 
better opportunity is alforded of self-reimbursement to the planter in 
the shape of inter-culture of other minor articles, such as Indian 
corn, peas, &c. 

Flantain Fibre. — When the fruit has arrived at maturity the stem 

2 H 



466 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



tliat bore it is felled and left to rot on the gi-ound, but this might 
be turned to advantage for its fibre. It is stated officially that the 
yield of fibre from thousands of acres of the plantain is lost annually 
in the colony of British Guiana alone for want of simple and inex- 
pensive means for separating it. Could an efficient and cheap machine 
be invented the fibre would be almost entire profit to the planter. 
The banana yields less fibre than the plantain, and it is generally 
somewhat discoloured or tinted. 

The next point for consideration is the machinery necessary for 
cleaning and preparing the fibre ; it is recommended that the stalk be 
cut into lengths of about 4 feet, and also divided into 4, so as to be 
able to separate the different qualities of fibre before passing through 
the mill, formed of horizontal rollers, by which means the water and 
a portion of feculae or pulp would be pressed out. There would still 
remain a portion closely adhering to the fibre to be got rid of, which 
would require a scraping operation, which there is no doubt could be 
performed by means of a scraper of wood or metal attached to the 
mill, and put in motion by the same motive power ; it would, then, 
require the application of water the more effectually to loosen the 
remaining matter ; exposure to the sun would dry and bleach it after 
being passed through a heckle, which would separate the threads. 
The dilference in value of each description and quality of fibre must 
depend- upon its strength, and its fitness for the various purposes 
for which it would be found applicable in the manufacture of 
cloth, cordage, paper, &c. Practical experience would soon prove 
the most eflectual methods of performing the several operations ; and, 
if fitted to the purposes for which they are requii-ed ; the most 
suitable localities for these plantations would, no doubt, be in the 
mountain districts, or in the plains, if well supplied with streams of 
water running through them. ExjDcrience will soon determine which 
variety of Musa is most valuable for producing fibre for manufacturing 
purposes. The best plant for this purpose is that which will produce 
the greatest return in the shortest period, requiring but little know- 
ledge and expense in cultivation. 

The one pre-eminently fitted to answer all these requirements, is the 
Martinique banana (Musa sapientum), requiring but little or no skill 
and energy in its general management ; for quantity, colour, and 
texture of fibre, it surpasses by far all varieties of the common plan- 
tain (Musa paradisiaca), which is a delicate plant, and frequently 
requires to be renewed or re-planted. The production of suckers and 
weight of stem are at least one-third less than the banana, and the 
fibre by no means so strong. I would also recommend two other 
species of Musa to the cultivators of this genus for their valuable 
fibre. One is the Musa violacea, an exotic from the Philippines, and 
in no respect inferior to the banana, except in the absence of edible 
fruit. The plant is exceedingly prolific and hardy. The other is the 
one producing the well-known Manila hemp (Musa textilis), and no 
expense or trouble ought to be spared by the Colonial Governments 
to introduce suckers and seeds of this most valuable plant in quantity 
in the West Indies, as it takes a long time to obtain stock from the 
produce of one plant. 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



467 



The following is the mode of preparing plantain fibre in 
Jamaica : — 

The plantain is cut when ripe, and the outside layer is split in 
longitudinal slices and put through a mill, and afterwards boiled in a 
copper, with a small quantity of potash, soda, or quick-lime, to tike 
off the mucilage. This layer is the coarsest, and requires a longer 
time to boil, therefore is to be done separately. The next layer is to 
be done the same way, and being finer and more valuable, should be 
kept by itself. The following layer ditto. The centre part of the 
plantain ditto. 

As the inner part is the finest fibre, requires the shortest time 
to boil, and commands the highest price, that is the reason why these 
boilings require to be performed separately. 

After boiling, the fibre is hung up on ropes to dry, and it can then 
be carried down and sold to the merchants, or shipped direct. 

Several modes have been recommended for the preparation of the 
fibre. 

1st. Beating, washing, and drying. 
2nd. Simply cutting and drying. 
3rd. Scraping. 

If we look at the structure of the plant itself we shall be able to 
form an estimate of those processes. 

The plant is composed of at least two very visible rows of cells, an 
inner and outer, along its whole extent upwards and downwards, and 
through every layer, there being several layers. 

The cells are formed of fibre, for " uprights " and " sills " and 
" plates," and tissue, as it were for " plastering ; " the former useful 
for ropes, fabrics, &c., the latter for paper. 

Of the processes named above, the last is the only one that produces 
fibre in its pure state ; but, whether we scrape from the inner or outer 
surface, we must lose all the tissue, and probably more than half 
the fibre. 

The first process will produce the material of the plantain stalk 
in a fit state for shipment with partially clean fibre, but nearly all 
the tissue will be lost. The washing, also, should be simple rinsing, 
for allowing the tissue to remain in water tends to discolour it 
greatly. 

The second process, I imagine, would be very slow, in consequence 
of the abundant water of the stalks. I apprehend also the dis- 
colouration which would ensue from the process would render the 
material all but unfit for market, except at a very low rate. 

It seems desirable that three or four objects should be kept in view 
in any process. 

1st. Saving of the cellular tissue for paper. 

2nd. Preserving the fibre of an agreeable appearance. 

3rd. Ultimate freeing the fibre from the tissue. 

4th. Preserving all the fibre. 

And, with relation to these, the processes and mechanical arrange- 
ment are to be considered. 

By no process of the hand can clean fibre be profitably procured. 
For this resort must be had to machinery. 

2 H 2 



468 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



The fibrous material, that is to say, the stalk after it has undergoue 
the squeezing process without separation of the tissue or pulp, may be 
prepared either by hand or machine, the latter being, of course, the 
most economicaL 

Squeezing, rinsing, partial separation, or " teazing " with the hand, 
after being hung up on rails of bamboo, or other cheap article, and 
rapid drying, may be recommended as a simple and efficacious process 
for obtaining the fibrous material in a favourable state, and with the 
several objects referred to in view. 

Machinery for jjerforming this, and effecting the final separation of 
the fibre from the pulp or tissue, must be a desideratum. In the 
absence of such machinery parties can only hope to prepare advan- 
tageously the fibrous material by hand. 

It has been supposed that boiling of the material would render the 
separation of the fibre at a future time more easy; but this seems 
unnecessary. Simple saturation in water for some few hours renders 
it fit for further process. 

Much objection is felt by the labourers, from whom alone are the 
stalks at present to be procured in abundance, to cutting the stalks, 
from the fear of injury to young shoots by loss of manure. It would 
be well if fear on this head could be shown groundless. 

The Eev. W. J. Pearson, of St. Thomas's, Jamaica, thus speaks, after 
much practical experience in the preparation of the fibre : 

Provided the tissue remain on till it reaches England, the fibrous 
material ought to be more valuable than the clean fibre, for the worth 
of the pulp should exceed the cost of separation. In the preparation 
of the material, also, it seems unnecessary to preserve more than two 
qualities, that of outer and inner, and this not from any great differ- 
ence in the fibres, but from the colour of the tissue, the outer being 
darker than the inner ; coarse and fine fibres will be found in every 
layer, and the former are, for the most part, but assemblages of the 
latter. 

In trying the strength of the fibrous material it will be well to 
ascertain wlieilier you have a thin or stout fibre overlaid with tissue, 
otherwise the result would be deceptive. 

The process of preparation, both of the material and of the fibre 
being tedious, it is very probable that difficulty will be experienced 
in inducing the labourers to engage in it on their own account, at 
any rate until the returns become certain and profitable. 

The quantity of material or fibre yielded by a sucker is, at present, 
so small, that until results prove remunerative, they will not have 
sufficient inducement to enter on the new source of industry. From 
my experience stalks do not average more than 1^ lb. of fibrous 
material, consequently of clean fibre much less. The fibrous material 
seems almost fit for the manufacture of small cordage, even as it is. 

It must not be supposed that the work of preparing the " material " 
is either easy or pleasant. To bring up the suckers from the deep 
valleys in which they sometimes grow, is a difficult task, and to carry 
them on the head up hill and down dale, as has often to be done, 
is very laborious. While some suckers are small, there are others 
frequently heavier than can be borne by one man, and until the 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



469 



work can be carried on by cart, there is no lielp but to divide such 
for long distances. The process by hand, of expressing the watery 
parts, is also very tedious, and drying and baling require much care 
and attention. 

Manila hemp takes its name from the chief city of the Philippines. 
It is not hemp, however, but the fibre of a species of plantain 
(31. textilis), which does not differ greatly from the edible banana, 
and is probably a variety of the same species. Thus far, according 
to Dr. Jagor, the serviceable fibre has been exclusively obtained from 
the southern portion of the Philippines, all attempts to make its cul- 
tivation profitable in the western and northern provinces having 
failed. A species of banana grows in great luxuriance in Western 
Java, but it has not been utilized as a fibre plant to any great extent. 
Great efforts were made in Celebes to cultivate this fibre, but it has 
been abandoned in favour of coffee, which is found to be far more 
profitable. For domestic purposes, the plantain fibre, known to com- 
merce also as abaca, is made use of in many tropical countries, and in 
time will doubtless be largely supplied ; but for the present the supply 
comes, as already stated, from the Philippines. 

There is some dispute as to the true scientific name of the species 
of Miisa from which the Manila hemp of commerce, the ahaca of the 
Portuguese and Spaniards, is obtained. It is now usually assigned 
to M. textilis, Nees, but probably some may be obtained from Jf. 
Troglodytarmn, Lin., a native of the same locality. Some ascribe^ jt 
also to ilf. sylvestris and M. Balbisiana. There are several species 
of Musa wild and indigenous to the Amboyna, Moluccas, and the 
Philippines. 

The plant thrives best on the shaded forest-covered slopes of 
volcanic mountains, such as abound in Albay and Camarines ; on 
level ground not so well, and on marshy land not at all. The plant 
requires, on an average, three years to produce its fibre in a proper 
condition. For the first crop only one stalk is cut from each bunch ; 
later on, the new suckers grow so quickly that they can be cut every 
two months. In full growth the yield is 30 cwts. to the acre, whereas 
from an acre of flax not more than 4 cwts. is obtained. After the plan- 
tation is once established, the plants flourish without any care or 
attention, the only trouble being to collect the fibre. One plant may 
yield as much as 2 lbs. of fibre, but the average is not more than 1 lb. ; 
on indifferent soil much less. 

Several grades of fibre are derived from different parts of the stem, 
the edges yielding the finest. The fibre, which lies next the surface, 
is stripped off by hand in broad bands, and then softened by being 
drawn backwards and forwards between a broad-bladed knife and a 
block of wood. One worker cuts up the stalks, strips off the leaves, 
and attends to the supply ; the second, frequently a boy, spreads out 
the strips of fibre ; the third draws them under the knife. The coarse 
fibre is called handala ; the finer, lupis. The former is chiefly used 
for ships' rigging, the latter is employed in weaving. The three finer 
grades of lupis are further softened before weaving by being pounded 
in a rice mortar. Generally the first or finest sort is worked as woof 
with the second as warp, and the third as warp with the second as 



470 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



woof. The fabrics so woven are nearly as fine as tlie ni^ls de pitia 
(pine-apple fibre). For purity, flexibility, and colour, the finest of 
these plantain fabrics are said to compare with cambric as cardboard 
does to tissue paper. According to Jagor, the finest stuffs require 
so great an amount of dexterity, patience, and time in their prepara- 
tion, and are consequently so expensive, that they cannot compete 
with the cheap machine-made goods of Europe. Their fine warm 
yellowish colour also is objected to by European women accustomed 
to linen and muslin strongly blued in the washing. By the rich half- 
castes, however, who understand the real goodness of their qualities, 
they are highly appreciated. In the regions where abaca is culti- 
vated, the entire dress of both sexes is made of this coarse cloth, 
called guimara For foreign markets, still coarser and stronger fabrics 
are prepared, such as crinoline and stiff muslin, used by dressmakers. 

It is as an article for export, however, that the cleaned fibre is of the 
most importance commercially. Nearly three-fourths of the produce 
go to America. It is very largely used in the manufacture of paper. 

From the fibre of this plant, cordage, mats, and wearing apparel are 
made in the Philippines. 

Leyte and Saniar in 1856 had a combined export of 5000 tons ; 
N6gros, 800 tons. South Camarines and Albay produce the largest 
l>art of the existing export of hemp, and yield a considerable quantity 
of remarkably good hemp. 

Large supplies are derived from Leyte, Saniar, Bohol, and the east 
coast of Negros (Dumaguete) in its more immediate vicinity. While 
from the gTeat island of Mindanao a further supply is obtained, from 
the fine province of Misamis, and from the small island of Carneguin, ' 
which produces nearly 1000 tons of good hemp, all of which goes 
to Cebu. 

The plantain from which it is obtained is propagated with great 
rapidity, being planted in the rainy season. One hundred plants 
occupy about 1000 square yards of land. The rude method of pre- 
paring the fibre is as follows. The stem, after having attained the age 
of between two and three years, is cut down and stripped of its layers 
or folds ; these are then divided into sections of three or four inches 
wide, and the pulpy or fleshy part separated by the process of drawing 
them under a knife fixed for the purpose ; the fibre thus laid bare is 
then placed in the sun to dry. If the plant be left on the ground for 
any length of time after it has been cut down, the hemp made from it 
assumes a reddish tinge, unfitted for commerce, the tannin in the sap 
colouring the fibre. Fifty tons produce about 25 lbs. of hemp or 
fibre. 

The difference that exists between the fibres of the species of 
plantain appears to be attributable to the fact that some fibres 
of wild plants, and especially those of the banana, are more or less 
modified by cultivation. The abaca is found in the volcanic islands 
of the Philippines, and in the neighbouring archipelago; still it is 
principally in the pueblos of Donsol, Sorsogon, Tabaco, Cameli, and 
Quipa, that the cultivation is carried on, and from whence the 
best material is obtained. The only difference between the abaca 
and other species of the 31u.sa genus is the rich dark-green hue that 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



471 



pervades every part of the former. The abaca has very little care 
bo-towed on its cultivation, being grown only for its stalks, and it is 
an advantage rather than otherwise that its fibres shonld retain their 
natural coarseness and tenacity. Nor does it require so rich a soil as 
the edible varieties : it is usually planted on the slopes of mountains, 
where the land has been newly broken up. The ground is carefully 
and frequently cleared of all obnoxious weeds during the growth of 
the young plant, and the stalk is cut when the fruits first make their 
appearance. At the end of the first crop, they have, monthly, good 
suckers springing up, and that, too, during the whole time that the 
plantation lasts, which is from five to seven years. The duration of 
course varies with the nature of the soil, the fertilizing properties of 
which this crop exhausts very rapidly, especially as no manure is 
applied. The textile material is obtained in the following manner : 
The stems are cut down and stripped of their leaves. It is next 
divided into long strips of two fingers in breadth, then passed between 
a thick plank, placed in a horizontal position, with a knife resting 
edgewise. The material is then drawn through with one hand, whilst 
the other presses heavily on the back of the knife, and in this manner 
the pulpy matter is scraped and cleared off, leaving the textile fibres 
bare. These are put to dry in the sun, care being taken to protect 
them from rain and moisture. They are then beaten lightly with 
sticks, again exposed to the sun, and lastly the filaments are sepa- 
rated according to their degrees of fineness. In this manner three 
sorts of fibre, of varying quality, are obtained : the first, called bandala, 
from the outer sheaths of the stem, which is the strongest and 
coarsest, and from which ropes, &c., are made. The second, known by 
the name of lupis, which is the finest, is procured from the inner 
layers ; whilst the third, the tupoz, comes from the intermediate 
layers of the tissue, and from this last fabrics and gauzes are manu- 
factured. Two men employed at this work, one in separating the 
outer coats, the other using the knife, can prepare from 24 lbs. to 
26 lbs. avoirdupois a day. Fifty feet of land covered with plaintain 
trees will furnish from 24 lbs. to 26 lbs. of abaca fibre, or 143 lbs. to 
145 lbs. to every 2^ acres. It is cut at least ten times a year, which 
gives a mean return of 1760 lbs. of bruised abaca, worth from 5/. to 
101. If the process be properly conducted, at least 1 lb. of thread, or, 
taking the produce of 2j acres for a whole year, 3520 lbs. of abaca 
will be obtained, worth at Manila about 201. The abaca intended for 
weaving is bruised in a mortar, and thus reduced into a kind of ball 
about the size of a child's head. This operation has the effect of 
rendering the threads more flexible and resistant. These threads, 
having been joined together by women or children, are woven after the 
manner of cotton, and the texture is immersed in water with a little 
shell lime for a day and a night. Afterwards they are cleaned in 
fresh water and left to dry. If mixed with silk or cotton, a beautiful 
texture is produced, very fine and valuable, and applicable to a variety 
of purposes. 

Hoping and cordage made from abaca are employed in the mercan- 
tile marine of India, and in the navy of the United States, and are well 
known under the name of white rope or Manila rope. 



472 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



Machines have been invented to remove the fibre from the pulp, 
but few are used. One was exhibited at Manila, about three years 
ago, very simple in its construction- and apparently producing results 
vastly superior to the ordinary mode I have described of manual 
labour. The exhibition of this machine produced a great excitement, 
and it was proposed and countenanced by the Captain-general to give 
a large premium to the inventor. The subject died away, however, 
and the machine disappeared from public view. It is probable that the 
criticisms of experienced people formed some drawbacks to the per- 
fection generally ascribed to the invention ; but, without possessing 
the slightest mechanical knowledge, the impression which its structure 
and effect made on persons capable of judging, was extremely favour- 
able. There was no intricacy in its machinery ; wood was its only 
material and a buffalo its moving power ; a village carpenter could 
make one from its model, and its results were tenfold or more greater 
than by the ordinary course. It may suggest itself, why has it 
then not become of general use ? I cannot affirm that the model 
has not been applied; but there are circumstances or influences 
in regard to the natives here, and the culture of this production, 
and indeed of all others, unfavourable to the extensive adoption of 
machinery. 

Exports of Manila hemp from the Philippines 

Piculs. Piculs. 

1850 124,367 1874 616,122 

1872 613,240 1875 519,392 

1873 628,066 



From Cebu the exports were in 



Piculs. I Piculs. 
1874 234,361 1875 154,922 



The best fibre comos from the latitudes south of Manila, and from 
several islands as far as the tenth degree. 

Of the 250,000 bales received at Manila in 1864, about 129,000 
were shipped to the United States and California, 114,000 to Great 
Britain, and the remainder to the British possessions and settlements 
in Australia, India, China, &c. 

The exports from the port of Cebu in 1874 were 154,922 piculs, of 
which upwards of 91,000 went to America. The total exported from 
the Philippines was 616,122 piculs against 628,066 piculs in 1873. 
Great Britain takes about one-third, 233,000 piculs. 

The manufacture of cloth and rope from the fibre of the plantain is 
not a new discovery, for the Indian natives of South America have 
long been in the habit of using it for these purposes. Damj^ier 
notices the process as common in the Indian archipelago in the early 
part of the last century, as follows : " They take the body of the tree, 
clear it of its outward bark and leaves, cut it into four quarters, 
which, put into the sun, the moisture exhales ; they then take hold of 
the threads and draw them out ; they are as big as brown thread. Of 
this they make cloth in Mindanao, called saggera, which is stubborn 
when new, wears out soon, and when wet it is slimy." 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



473 



Our direct imports of Manila hemp into the United Kingdom from 
the Philippines have been as follows : — 





Cwts. 




Cwts. 


1862 , , 


, 173,478 


1870 , , , 


129,345 


1863 


312,871 


1871 


206,678 
,. 153,746 


1864 


183,944 


1872 


1865 , . 


194,851 


1873 .. , 


259,962 


1866 


87,873 
88,033 


1874 


276,640 


1867 


1875 , , 


324,792 


1868 , , , 


175,118 


1876 .. . 


, ,, 300,798 


1869 


92,642 





( 474 ) 



SECTION VII. 



THE SPICES OF COMMERCE. 

Pepper is one of tlie most wholesome and useful of the spices. With 
persons in ordinary health it has the effect of stimulating the stomach 
greatly to the performance of its functions, and is peculiarly service- 
able to persons who are of cold habit, or who suflfer from a weak 
digestion. Used in moderation, pepper decidedly promotes the appe- 
tite and digestion ; but its excessive use tends to vitiate the gastric 
juice and injure the stomach, besides provoking inordinate thirst; and 
this remark applies generally to all spices. 

Many of the natives of India esteem pepper as a stomachic, and 
drink a strong infusion of it in water by way of creating an appetite. 
They have also a method of making a fiery spirit of fermented fresh 
pepper with water which they use for the same purpose. 

The varieties of pepper which enter into commerce are Pinang and 
Singapore, Tellicherry, Sumatra, Malabar, Traug, Siam, and Cochin. 

The empire of Aclieen is the chief producing country for pepper. 
It is, however, cultivated in various parts of tbe island of Sumatra 
and at Bantam. The Malay Peninsula, where the pej)per vine was 
introduced from Java, and which produced at one time about 
4,000,000 lbs., now grows none. The culture, as far as quantity is 
concerned, may be said to be almost restricted, at present, to the 
east and west coasts of Sumatra ; the production, which used to reach 
nearly 40,000,000 lbs. annually, has, however, greatly declined of late 
years, but it is probable that when the civil wars are suppressed it 
will again recover. 

It is impossible to arrive at any precise data with regard to the 
crops. In 1872, 142,000 piculs were shipped to Pinang; in 1873, 
105,000 ; and in 1874, 96,000. The blockade of the Achecn ports by 
the Dutch cannot alone have been the cause of this decrease, else the 
quantity shipped in 1874 would have been larger than in 1873. 
Besides the shipments to Pinang, there used to be sent, before the 
war, about 2,000,000 lbs. direct to Mediterranean ports. In esti- 
mating the entire produce now at about 22,600,000 lbs. we are 
not far wrong, which is more than 17,000,000 lbs. below the former 
production. 

The pepper that comes to the Batavia market is received from the 
Lampong islands off the Sumatra shores ; the quantity produced there 
is estimated at about 23,000 piculs annually. The crop is plucked in 
September and following months, therefore uj) to the end of January 



PEPPEB. 



475 



about 2000 piculs reach the Batavia market monthly, while from 
February to August the monthly receipts hardly reach 500 piculs. 
The exports of pepper from Java in 1870 were 21,039 piculs. 

The pepper produced in the Lampong district in 1871 was 14,000 
piculs ; in 1872, 20,537 piculs. In 1872 the shipments consisted of 
24,256 piculs of white and 30,695 of black pepper. 

The imports of pepper into China were, in 

Piculs. Piculs. 

1868 40,169J 1871 25,683f 

1869 42,866f 1872 41, 01 1 1 

1870 24,485 

In 1867 the export of pepper from Siam, all to China, was 18,947 
piculs, valued at 22,500Z. This was not more than half the usual 
crop, owing to severe drought in the pepper districts on the east 
coast of the Gulf of Siam. In 1870 the export was 25,544 piculs, 
valued at K17,4881. Pepper is also grown to some extent in Cochin 
China, as 4308 piculs were shipped from thence in 1871. An export 
trade in this article was early fostered by the French authorities ; the 
home administration, patriarchal ever towards its offshoots, deter- 
mined to aid the development of its promising eastern colony, and, 
among other things, to induce a greater effort to be made in the pro- 
duction of pepper. For this purpose the duties levied in French ports 
upon the importation of pepper were entirely remitted in the case of 
Cochin China produce, or what was the same thing, so far as the 
home authorities could judge, Saigon exported produce. The diffe- 
rential duties thus created were very great, so considerable that it was 
found much more profitable to send pepper up to Saigon, to be there 
shipped to France as of Cochin China growth, than to send it on at 
much less expense and much smaller freight direct from the Straits. 
Now, however, a change has been made, and certificates of origin are 
required upon all pepper allowed to be exported to France, and none 
but such as is declared on shipment to be of Cochin China origin, is 
admitted duty free on arrival in France. 

The importation of pepper into the port of Marseilles has been as 
follows, in tons, from 



Year. 


British India. 


Dutch India. 


Other Countries. 


1872 


240 


849 


393 


1873 


753 


87 


336 


1874 


1,357 


1,139 


375 


1875 


1,928 


297 


899 



Of this there was taken for consumption in 1874, 416,975 kilo- 
grammes, and in 1875, 647,228 kilogrammes. 

In 1855 there were reported to be in Singapore 1,054,715 pepper 
vines in bearing, and 553,571 young vines. The exports were about 
68,000 piculs annually; of this 50,000 piculs were produced in 
Singapore, and the balance imported from the Johoro territory and 
Sumatra, &c. From Pinang, between 1855 and 1860 there were 



476 



PEPPER. 



sliipped on the average 60,000 piculs annually. In 1867 there was 
exported from the Straits Settlements 4,831,375 lbs., valued at 
285,145/. Our direct imj)orts of pepper from Singapore in the last 
five years have been as follows : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1871 
1872 
1873 


lbs. 

21,820,600 
25,009,813 
24,629,444 


£ 

478,965 
681,569 
769,191 


1874 
1875 


lbs. 

17,503,343 
27,677,719 


£ 

507,790 
622,865 



The pepper vine (Pzper nigrum) is indigenous to the forests of 
Malabar and Travancore. For centuries pepper has been an article 
of exportation to European countries from the western coast of India. 
Although a product of many countries in the east, that which comes 
from Malabar is acknowledged to be the best. In 1874 there were 
23,179 pepper vines scattered over the territory of French India. 

Its cultivation is very simple, and is effected by cuttings or suckers 
put down before the commencement of the rains in June, in a rich and 
tolerably moist soil. In three years it begins to bear, each plant 
yielding on an average 2 lbs. of pepper per annum up to fifteen or 
twenty years, after which they begin to decline. The crop is gathered 
in March or April ; the fruit is plucked when not quite ripe, and 
usually dried on mats in the open air. White pepper differs from 
black only in being deprived of the outer skin by a short maceration 
in pure water and subsequent gentle rubbing ; it is somewhat smaller, 
of a greyish white colour, and with a less aromatic taste. 

The small round berry-like fruit grows somewhat loosely, to the 
number of twenty to thirty, on a common pendulous fruit-stalk. They 
are at first green, then become red, and if allowed to ripen, yellow ; 
but they are gathered before complete maturity, and by drying in that 
state t irn blackish-grey or brown. When one or two berries at the 
base of the spike begin to turn red the whole spike is pinched off. Next 
day the berries are rubbed off with the hands, picked clean and dried 
for three days in the sun, or in bamboo baskets near a gentle fire. 

The plant is capable of growing to a height of 20 or 30 feet, 
but for the sake of convenience it is usually kept low, and is often 
trained on poles. In places where no vines occur naturally, the plant 
is propagated by setting slips near the roots of the trees on which it 
is to climb. An acre of land will bear 2500 plants, and as they require 
but little care, the cost of cultivating and bringing into bearing one 
acre does not exceed 4Z. at the most, and as the annual yield when the 
plants come into bearing is worth upwards of 80Z., the investment is a 
very profitable one. 

The pepper vine is hardy and easily cultivated, and as its produce 
is of such great commercial importance, it may be well worth trying 
whether it could not be successfully grown in other localities under 
congenial conditions of climate and soil. The choice of a proper site 
for the plantation is a consideration of the first importance. Level 
ground lying along the banks of rivers and rivulets is to be preferred, 



PEPrER. 



477 



both on account of tLe vegetable mould commonly found in soil so 
situated, as well as on account of the facilities of water-carriage 
which such a situation generally affords. But the land should never 
be so low as to be liable to inundation. Declivities, unless very 
gentle, are to be avoided, because the soil loosened' by culture is liable 
to be washed away by heavy rain. Plains, whether naked or covered 
with long grass, will not answer, unless broken up well with the 
plough and enriched by manure. Above all, the pepper- vine loves a 
moist climate. 

In Malabar the pepper-vine is often raised from seed, and experi- 
enced men have been known to express a decided preference for this 
mode of propagation, because the vine so raised bears for fourteen 
years. On the other hand, though the cuttings yield for only seven 
years, or just half the period, the crops they give are greater, and the 
berries are both of larger size and of superior quality. It is for this 
reason, therefore, that in Malabar the cultivation is practised with 
cuttings or suckers, which are put down into the ground before the 
rain sets in, in June. The soil must be rich, but it should also be free 
from any accumulation of moisture below, or the young plants are apt 
to rot. The cuttings are usually planted at the foot of trees with 
rough bark, on which .the vine as it grows finds a support. The 
creeper will climb up about 20 or 30 feet, but it is purposely kept 
lower for facility of collecting the berry. During its growth every 
sucker is removed, and it is pruned, thinned, and kept clear of weeds. 
In three years the vine begins to bear. After the berries have been 
gathered, they are dried on mats by exposure to the sun, when they 
change colour from red to black. Much experience is required as to 
the proper time for gathering. The trees which are generally selected 
in Malabar to support and shade the pepper-vine are the jack, the 
mango, the cashew-nut, and other similar trees ; so that the pepper 
is an additional crop which the cultivator gathers from his orchard 
lands, even while they also are bearing. 

Although the quality of the pepper grown in Malabar is considered 
to be better, the largest quantity of the spice is produced in Sumatra, 
where the method of cultivation is somewhat different. In that island 
the pepper-vine is raised in plantations regularly laid out. The 
ground is previously cleared of wood, ploughed up, and sown with 
rice, among which the cuttings are put down at a distance of five 
feet from each other in every direction, with the green sapling of 
some tree of quick growth and rough or prickly bark, which soon 
takes root and affords support and shade to the vine as it grows. 
It grows most luxuriously in moist, rich soils, provided it obtains 
good shade. Like most other vegetable productions in hot climates, 
it requires but little trouble or attention after it has once been planted, 
other than watching the proper season for collecting the berry. In 
Sumatra, the layers or cuttings are put down in September. The plant 
is afterwards left to itself for twelve or eighteen months, it is then 
buried with all its branches, so as to leave only a small arch of the 
stem above ground. From this arch new shoots sprout out, three or 
four of which are allowed to climb up the tree, and are expected to 
produce flowers and fruit in a year after. It is inferred that, by 



478 



PEPrER. 



this practice, the strength and vigour of the plant are so mucli in- 
creased by the multiplication of its organs of nourishment, namely, 
the roots, that it will not only yield a larger crop of flowers, but also 
bring out its fruit in the greatest perfection. The neglect of this pre- 
caution might seriously affect the out-tui'n of a crop, both in quantity 
and quality. 

The vine produces fruit in two seasons of the year. The flowers of 
the principal crop appear in September, with the rains of the first 
monsoon. In the latter end of December the berries begin to ripen, 
and are gathered in January, as they get to maturity. The finest 
berries in the second stage towards maturity are selected for making 
white pepper. The process in Sumatra consists in steeping these 
berries for three or four days in running water, and then drying them 
well in the sun. The flowers of the second crop appear in March and 
April with the rains of the little monsoon ; and the fruit ripens and 
is gathered about July and August ; it is probably to the want of 
moisture at the time the fruit is setting, that the inferior quality and 
scantier out-turn of this crop is to be attributed. One thousand vines 
are estimated to yield about 10 J cwt. of pepper in the coui'se of a 
year; so that each vine may be reckoned upon as producing l^- lb. of 
the spice. 

The black berries of Emhelia Bibes, Buim., are often used to 
adulterate it in parts of India, as they so much resemble pepper as 
to render it impossible to distinguish them by sight or by any other 
means, and they are, withal, somewhat spicy. Although there is a 
very heavy penalty on adulteration in this country, ground pepper is 
frequently sold sophisticated with starch, mustard husks, linseed and 
capsicum. 

From 1811 to 1824 the duty imposed ranged from 2s. to 2s. 6d. per 
pound. Up to 1836 it was Is. ; it was then reduced to 6cZ., and 
finally abolished. 

The following have been the imports of pepper into the United King- 
dom since the year 1840 as given in the Board of Trade returns : — 



Lbs. 

1810 5,927,959 

1841 15,034,406 

1842 6,021,290 

1843 4,083,160 

1844 8,087,099 

1845 9,852,983 

1846 5,906,586 

1847 4,669,930 

1848 8,125,545 

1849 4,796,042 

1850 8,082,319 

1851 3,996.295 

1852 6,631,700 

1853 5,496,885 

1854 .. .. .. 9,428,882 

1855 6,489,005 

1856 10,810,398 

1857 5,463,738 

1858 12,357,508 



1859 
1860 
1861 
18G2 
18G3 



Lbs. 
8,719,266 
12,810,040 
14,684,389 
18,115,975 
16,810,469 



1864 18,536,795 

1865 18,343,592 

1866 14,612,161 

1867 13,913,924 

1868 16,990,144 

1869 18,144,284 

1870 19,339.491 

1871 23,669,727 

1872 27,576,710 

1S73 26,324,828 

1874 19,648,118 

1875 29,399,020 

1876 26,059,030 



The value of the pepper imported in 1875 was stated at 670,175Z. 



CHILLIES AND CAYENNE PEPPER. 



479 



There would seem to be extraordinary flactuations in tlie quantity 
of pepper taken for consumption here and stocks held, for if we take 
the last five years, deducting the re-exports from the imports, the 
following were apparently tlie quantities taken for consumption and 
held in stock in the United Kingdom : — 

Lb?. I Lbs. 

1871 4,193,510 1874 3,320,468 

1872 9,685,000 1875 9,187,571 

1373 13,938,359 1 



The average consumption of pepper in the United Kingdoin from 
1848 to 1862, when there was a duty levied, was from 3,500,000 lbs. 
to 4,000,000 lbs. per annum. 

A pepperwort, the small red carpels of which inclose black shining 
seeds of an aromatic odour, and a peculiar pungent flavour, with an 
acrid after-taste, being stimulant, stomachic, and astringent, are 
used for seasoning purposes jn China. They are brought from the 
Szechuan province to Ning-po, and are worth 50 B a picul. 



Chillies and Cayenne Pepper. — The Cayenne pepper of commerce 
is obtained chiefly from the pulverised chillies or fruit pods of one 
or two species of capsicum (Capsicum annuum, Lin., and C. fasti- 
giatum, Blume). But a very large number of species and varieties 
of capsicum are grown and used as condiments in all tropical 
countries, where there appears to be a greater necessity for pungent 
seasonings. 

The generic botanical name of Capsicum is derived from " kapto," 
to bite, on account of the hot pungent qualities of the pericarp. 

Among the principal species grown may be named the following : — 
the cherry pepper or round chilli. (Capsicum cerasiforme, Willd.) ; 
the bonnet pepper (C. tetragoiium, Mill.); the bell pepper (C. grossum, 
Lin.) ; the spice or goat pepper (C. frufesrens, Lin.) and the bird 
pepper (C. haccatum, Lin.). The last named two are more acrimonious 
than the others. The fruits of these several species are of various 
forms — round, oblong, cordate or horned, and either scarlet or yellow ; 
in some varieties they are so little pungent as to be used sliced in 
salad, in others they are intolerably biting till the mouth becomes 
accustomed to them by habit. The acrid resin (capsicine) in the fruit 
renders them hot, pungent and stimulating. Contrary to general 
opinion it has been found on analysis that the seeds after removal of 
the pericarp, and thoroughly washing and drying them, are entirely 
devoid of acridity and pungency. 

Red pepper may be termed one of the most useful condiments in 
hygiene. As a stimulant and auxiliary in digestion it has been con- 
sidered invaluable, especially in warm countries. There are always a 
few of these shrubby plants grown about the dwellings in the 
tropics to supply the daily wants of the table, as they are generally 
gathered and eaten just before fully ripe. 

Unfortunately Cayenne pepper is very frequently adulterated, and 
hence reliance can only be placed on purchasing from respectable 



480 



CHILLIES AND CAYENNE PEPPEE. 



wholesale houses, which have a reputation and character for prohity 
and the sale of genuine articles. Venetian red, red ochre and cinnabar 
are often added to darken the colour, although this is no sign of its 
excellence, for the Nepaul and many other Cayenne peppers are 
extremely light coloured as they will naturally be if made with the 
ground seeds alone unmixed with the redder husks of the fruit capsule. 
As Cayenne pepper when obtained pure and used in moderation 
promotes digestion and so prevents flatulence, and is hence undoubt- 
edly serviceable to persons of languid digestion, so if adulterated 
with poisonous substances it is calculated to be highly injurious. 

The French names for capsicums are " piment," " poivrons," 
" pevrots." and " corail of the gardens." The Spanish name for this 
spice is "agi:" it was formerly known under the name of Calicut 
pepper, and in Gerarde's time, nearly three centuries ago, it was sold 
here under the name of Ginnie pepj)er, and it still bears the name 
of Guinea pepper in France. 

The natives of Brazil consume great quantities of these peppers, 
preferring the * small red ones, which are of excessive pungency. 
When they have no fish they boil several jiounds of these peppers in 
a little water, and dip their mandioca bread into the fiery soup thus 
formed. 

There is an enormous consumption of chillies in India, as both rich 
and poor daily use them, and they form an important ingredient in 
the curries and chutneys in general use, when ground into a paste 
between two stones, with a little mustard, lard, oil, ginger and salt, 
this forms the only seasoning which the millions of poor in the East 
can obtain to flavour their insipid rice. 

In 1870 there were more than 70,000 acres under culture with 
capsicums in the Madras Presidency, the largest portion being in 
Kistna. The exports from Madras in the four years ending 1855 were 
81,042 cwt. Bombay imported in 1873, 5567 cwt. principally from 
the Madras Presidency, and exported 3323 cwt. In 1871 Singapore 
imported 1071 cwt., chiefly from Pinang and Pegu. The spice is 
largely consumed by the Chinese. 409^ piculs of dried chillies were 
shipped from Chefoo in 1871 to other Chinese ports. C. amiuum is 
extensively cultivated in Bengal ; there is a variety growing in Nepaul 
[C. Nepalensis) the taste of which is far more pungent and acrid than 
any of the preceding named species. 

Chillies or pod peppers are much used for flavouring pickles. By 
pouring hot vinegar upon the fruits all the essential qualities are 
procured, which cannot be effected by drying them, owing to their 
oleaginous properties ; hence chilli vinegar is in repute as a flavouring 
substance. In Bengal the natives make an extract from the chillies, 
which is about the consistence and colour of treacle. A form of soluble 
Cayenne was sent from British Guiana in 1867 in the collection for- 
warded to the Paris Exhibition. 

Chillies are imported here from the West Indies, Western Africa, 
Zanzibar and Natal, but there are no reliable statistics as to the 
quantity we receive, although it has been estimated at as much as 
80 tons annually ; Sierra Leone shipped in 1871, 7258 lbs., and Natal 
9072 lbs. 



GINGER. 



481 



Ginger. — After pepper, ginger probably ranks next in importance 
for the quantity produced and consumed, and the aggregate value of 
that which we receive. The declared value of all the spices we 
import averages about 1,200,000/., of which pepper stands for nearly 
one half. Cinnamon is valued at about 125,000/., whilst ground 
ginger has now reached beyond 169,000/., besides about 20,000/. more 
for preserved ginger, and this is all consumed here. According to 
Hanbury, ginger must have been tolerably well known in England 
even prior to the Norman Conquest. The plant affording it was 
known to Marco Polo, who speaks of observing it both in China and 
India. 

The root-like stem of Zingiber officinale, Eosc, is cultivated in very 
many of the warmer parts of the world for local use, but only in a few 
localities on an extensive scale for shipment to supply European wants. 
Of this well-known jflavouring condiment several varieties are known 
in trade, distinguished by their quality, place of growth, &c. Gingers 
are either "coated" with the shrivelled rind, or "scraped" by having 
it run over. Ginger is sometimes bleached by chloride of lime, or 
whitewashed with lime and water. This spice is but little used on the 
Continent compared with England. 

The varieties of ginger which enter into commerce are Jamaica, 
Cochin, Brazil and Africa. The first three are scraped gingers, the 
last-named is coated ginger — that is to say, it still retains its epi- 
dermis. Jamaica ginger is the sort most esteemed, and next to it 
the Cochin. 

The following shows our sources of supply in 1875 : — 



From — 


Quantity. 


Value. 




cwts. 


£ 




9,900 


19,887 




10,459 


31,418 




11,553 


37,898 




8,295 


16,068 


British West India Isles . . 


15,215 


54,955 




1,481 


3,586 




56,903 


163,812 



Ginger is received chiefly from three quarters, the East and West 
Indies (Cochin and Jamaica) and the Western Coast of Africa — Sierra 
Leone. Our imports of ginger into the United Kingdom have been 
as follows : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




cwts. 


£ 




cwis. 


£ 


1867 


42,834 


95,398 


1872 


32,174 


72,139 


1868 


52,194 


101,456 


1873 


36,363 


97,548 


1869 


34,535 


59,982 


1874 


38,750 


117,987 


1870 


33,854 


60,973 


1875 


56,880 


163,951 


1871 


32,723 


70,884 


1876 


62,164 


169,252 



2 I 



4:82 



GINGER. 



Several of tlie West Indian islands used to grow ginger, especially 
Barbados, Hayti and Jamaica, but the cultivation for export is chiefly 
now confined to Jamaica. 

In Jamaica it is propagated by division of the root, the smaller 
pieces or protuberances being set, each of which throws up two dif- 
ferent stems. The first bears the leaves, and rises sometimes to the 
height of three feet or more, though its usual growth seldom exceeds 
16 or 18 inches; when this spreads its leaves and grows to full per- 
fection, the second stalk springs up, which is also simple and furnished 
only with a few scales below, but at the top is adorned with a roundish 
squamose flower-spike, and seldom rises above two-thirds of the height 
of the others. The land having been well cleared and trenched, the 
ginger is planted about March or April. It rises to its height and 
flowers about September, and fades again towards the end of the year. 
When the stalks are wholly withered, the root is thought to be full- 
grown, and fit to dry, which is generally done in January and 
February following. When these are dug up, they are picked and 
cleaned, and scalded gradually in boiling water. After this, they are 
spread out in the sun to dry, from day to day, until sufficiently aired 
for packing. The larger spreading roots are generally called " hands" 
in Jamaica, and will occasionally weigh half-a-pound ; they are also 
termed "races." 

In 1874 there were 185 acres under culture with ginger in Jamaica. 
The crop seems to vary a good deal, since we find over 18,000 cwt. 
shipped in 1868, and not much more than 5000 cwt. in 1872, reco- 
vering again to 10,551 cwt. in 1874, valued at 21,100?., but the 
average for many years may be taken at 1,000,000 lbs. to 1,500,000 lbs. 
The following have been the exports of ginger from Jamaica of late 
years : — 



Lbs. 

1866 1,550,166 

1867 1,728,075 

1868 2,036,921 

1869 1,261,873 

1870 680,492 



Lbs. 

1871 632,031 

1872 599,766 

1873 815,659 

1874 1,181,789 



The ginger plant is extensively cultivated in India, from the 
Himalayas to Cape Comorin. It is not exactly known to what country 
the plant is indigenous, though Ainslie states it to be a native of China, 
while Joebel asserts that it is a native of Guinea. In the Himalayas 
it is successfully reared at elevations of 4000, or 5000 feet, requiring 
a moist soil. The Malabar ginger, exported from Calicut, is the 
produce of the district of Shernaad, situated to the south of Calicut. 

In the Dacca district the natives cleanse the roots in boiling lime 
water, which probably injures much of the fragrant pungency ; whereas 
in the West Indies, they use simply plain water. The leaves and 
shoots of the broad-leaved ginger [Z. Zerumhet) are used as greens in 
Bengal. It grows wild in the Concan," and in the woorls about 
Calcutta. The underground stem of this species resembles that of 
ginger, but is bitter as well as aromatic. The root-stocks of Aljpinia 



GINGER. 



483 



Galanga, A. racemosa, A. AUughas, have somewhat similar aromatic 
and pungent properties, and are frequently used as substitutes for 
ginger. 

In India the cultivation is carried on in the Hill States as follows. 
The best " races " of the previous year's crops are selected and placed 
in a corner of the house, and smeared over and covered with cow dung 
to prevent them becoming dry. 

When the first rain falls, the land is ploughed two or three times, 
and then divided off into beds with a little raised edge round each bed, 
taking care to make openings to let superfluous water run off ; for if 
water lodges on the crop, the roots will rot. Little pieces of the roots 
are then buried 3 inches deep in the soil at intervals of 9 inches. 
The field is covered with the leaves of trees to keep the soil moist, 
and over these manure is spread to the depth of half an inch. When 
it rains, the water, impregnated with manure, filters through the 
leaves to the roots. Artificial irrigation is given after the rains. 
When the plants are about 2 feet high, to every shoot there will be 
found about eight rhizomes, or parts of the root. These are dug up, 
and buried in another place for a month, then taken up, exposed to 
the sun for a day, and are fit for use. A beegah of land requires eight 
maunds of ginger to plant, and yields thirty-two maunds for a first- 
rate crop. Ginger, fit for planting, sells at 8 to 10 seers for the rupee ; 
that for use, 24 to 32 seers the rupee. In order to dry ginger into 
" south," or for keeping, the fresh roots are put into a basket, which is 
suspended by a rope, and then two men, one on each side, pull it to 
and fro between them by a cord attached, and thus shake the roots in 
the basket ; this process is carried on for two hours every day for three 
days. After this the roots are dried in the sun for eight days, and 
again shaken in the basket. The object of the shaking is to take off 
the outer scales and skin of the roots. Two days' further drying com- 
pletes the process, and the " south " sells for 3 to 4 seers the rupee. 
Turmeric is cultivated in the same manner ; when ready it is dug up, 
steeped in hot water a day and a night, and then dried. 

The following have been the exports from India:— 





Ginger. 


Other sorts of Spices. 


Year. 




















Quantity. 


Value. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




cwts. 


£ 


lbs. 


£ 


1869 


11,835 


20,017 






1870 


15,313 


27,647 






1871 


13,014 


28,199 


1,21 5", 438 


32 ,'135 


1872 


13,310 


28,217 
39,830 


701,869 


19,781 


1873 


14,959 


737,562 


20,807 


1874 


16,004 


47,410 


1,209,133 


50,413 


1875 


30,307 


85,384 


1,208,662 


47,766 



The African ginger is grown in Sierra Leone ; about half that pro- 
duced comes to England, and the other half goes to America. In 
1868 the value of the ginger exported from Sierra Leone was 18,917/., 

2 I 2 



484 



NUTMEGS AND MACE. 



and in 1869, 14,008Z. Our direct imports from Sierra Leone have 
been as follows : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 


cwts. 
9,566 
6,855 
5,948 
6,167 


£ 

11,380 
8,999 
5,540 
9,980 


1873 
1874 
; 1875 


cwts. 
7,655 
8,813 
9,843 


£ 

16,383 
20,908 
19,752 



Ginger is a good deal grown in China, and largely used in its fresh 
state as a condiment, and in medicine. Some small quantity is 
exported dried, but it is black and hard, and not much appreciated in 
commerce. 

Ginger also appears in European commerce as a succade, the young 
shoots of the rhizome being peeled and preserved in syrup. For this 
purpose the rhizomes are lifted while they are yet tender and full of 
sap, before they have become hard or woody ; the roots are carefully 
picked and washed, and afterwards scalded till they become tender 
enough for the purpose ; they are then put into cold water, and 
scraped and peeled gradually. This operation may last three or four 
days, the water on the roots being changed frequently. When thus 
prepared, they are put into jars and covered with the syrup, and this 
is changed two or three times, when they are ready for shipment. 
The imports of preserved ginger are principally from China, from 
whence we have received of late years the following quantities : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1 Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 


cwts. 
4,249 
4,972 
2,677 
3,791 
3,366 


£ 

23,799 
21,177 
9,753 
12,731 
13,465 


1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 


cwts. 
9,372 
4,327 
7,681 
6,996 


25,722 
16,319 
21,949 
19,894 



Nutmegs and Mace. — The tree which produces these spices is the 
Myristka moschata, Thunberg ; M. fragrans, Houttuyn ; M. aromatica, 
Lam. ; M. officinalis, Lin. ; a native of the Moluccas. The tree attains 
a height of 20 to 30 feet and greatly resembles our pear tree. The 
fruit, which is singularly beautiful, is pear-shaped, about the size of 
an apricot. As it ripens, the pulp, which is nearly half-an-inch thick, 
and of a whitish colour, opens and displays the nutmeg in its black 
and shining shell, encircled by a network of mace. 

The tree begins to bear when ten years old, and goes on improving 
during the space of a century. The fruit is gathered two or three 
times a year. Three sorts of nutmegs are distinguished, namely, the 
male or barren, the royal, and the queen. The last, which are small 
and round, are preferred to the others, which are large and oval. 

In 1830 the duty on nutmegs was 2s. 6d. per lb. on British grown, 
and 3s. 6d. on foreign, and the consumption was 121,260 lbs., which 



NUTMEGS AND MACE. 



485 



had increased in 1837 to 134,115 lbs. In 1836, wild nutmegs were 
admitted at Is. duty. In 1846, the rates for British and foreign were 
equalized to 2s. 6ti, and for wild lowered to Sd. per lb. In 1847, a 
distinction was made between wild in the shell and wild " not in the 
shell," the former being charged Sd. and the latter 5d. per lb. The 
home consumption in 1859 was 265,783 lbs. The duty on all spices 
has long since been abolished. The following figures give the Im- 
ports of nutmegs into the United Kingdom for a series of years; but 
they have not been separately specified in the Board of Trade returns 
for the last six years : — 



Lbs. 1 Lbs. 

1840 113,193 I 1848 336,420 

1841 135,198 i 1849 224,021 

1842 169,241 j 1850 315,126 

1843 209,602 j 1851 358,320 

1844 152,110 i 1852 357,939 

1845 444,706 ! 1853 300,563 

1846 405,679 | 1854 438,312 

1847 367,936 | 1855 335,623 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




lbs. 


£ 




lbs. 


£ 


1856 


462,600 


54,602 


1864 


809,095 


48,864 


1857 


462,972 


51,738 


1865 


771,971 


42,621 


1858 


421,785 


39,695 


1866 


563,785 


31,788 


1859 


451,561 


39,176 


1867 


370,193 


23,417 


1860 


532,208 


42,157 


1868 


682,139 


43,245 


1861 


574,164 


33,440 


1869 


809,589 


57,818 


1862 


511,023 


32,223 


1870 


537,978 


32,513 


1863 


551,577 


27,160 







The nutmeg is propagated from fresh seeds (nutmegs) and these 
vary greatly in size and shape, just as apples and pears do raised from 
seeds. There can hardly be a more profitable crop than the nutmeg 
at present prices. The annual yield of a good tree of sixteen or 
eighteen years' growth, and covering about 600 square feet surface, is 
about 10 lbs., which, at an average of 2s. per lb., gives a value of 
produce per acre, per annum, of over 70Z., exclusive of the yield of 
mace, 1 lb. each tree, which at 4s. is equal to lOZ. more. The fruit 
of the nutmeg takes nine months to mature. 

In the year 1619, the Dutch took possession of the Spice Islands, 
and while encouraging to the utmost of their power the culture of the 
nutmeg tree in a few of them, ruthlessly destroyed all the trees in the 
surrounding islands. Two years after the occupation of the Moluccas 
by the British in 1796, the nutmeg tree was planted at Bencoolen^ in 
Sumatra, and shortly afterwards the culture was undertaken in the 
Straits Settlements. 

The Banda islands, where nutmeg culture is carried on by the 
Dutch, are Great Banda or Lonthoir, Neira and Ay. The annual 
production there in the fifteen years ending 1854, was 579,321 lbs. of 
nutmegs, and 137,392 lbs, of mace. There are about thii-ty-four nut- 
meg gardens there. These difi*er in size, the number of trees vary- 
ing from 4000 to 28,000, and the produce is from 6000 to 32,000 of 



486 



NUTMEGS AND MACE. 



nutmegs. These are classed into medium, inferior, and broken nuts, 
and the mace into good and chips. As the consumption would seem 
to be increasing, and the production does not keep pace, the value is 
likely to rise, although the price has doubled in the last two years. In 
1863, the combined shipments of nutmegs and mace from Java were 
900,000 lbs. In 1870 the shipment of nutmegs alone was 5931 piculs; 
and in 1871, 8107 piculs, of which more than a fourth went to the 
United States. 

The British production in the Straits Settlements twenty years ago 
exceeded the Dutch crop, the total yield of the Bandas in 1855, being 
but 4032 piculs of nutmegs and 1000 of mace. The production of 
Pinang alone (exclusive of Singapore) was as follows, for ten years : — 





Year. 


Nutmegs. 


Mace. 


Total. 






piculs. 


piculs. 


piculs. 






1846-47 


1,519 


477 


1,996 






1847-48 


2,077 


661 


2,738 






1848-49 


2,178 


666 


2,844 






1849-50 


2,086 


656 


2,742 






1850-51 


2,564 


751 


3,315 






1851-52 


2,625 


886 


3,511 






1852-53 


3,020 


781 


3,801 






1853-54 


2,768 


887 


3,655 






1854-55 


3,294 


898 


4,192 






1855-56 


4,624 


1,340 


5,964 






Total 


26,755 


8,003 


34,758 j 



The following shows the decennial progress of the exports from 
Pinang, in piculs : — 



Year. 


Nutmegs. 


Mace. 




piculs. 


piculs. 


1840 


598 


159 


1850 


2,086 


656 


1860 


6,421 


2,094 



There were, in 1860, 14,502 acres under culture with spices of all 
kinds, namely, 13,153 in Pinang, and 1349 in Province Wellesley. 
Pinang nutmegs are always shipped in the natural state, and not 
limed. 

In 1848, there were 1190 acres under nutmeg trees in Singapore, 
containing 71,400 trees, which produced 624 cwts. of nutmegs and 
156 cwts. of mace. In 1855, there were 2639 nutmeg trees bearing, 
and 34,000 young trees. The production was but 89,379 nutmegs, 
which were then valued at 3J dollars per 1000. 

The island plantations in Singapore and Pinang have never re- 
covered the severe blight which, in 1857, destroyed nearly every nut- 
meg tree then in existence. The plantations at that time were yielding 
at the rate of 30Z. to 40Z. per acre. The lands formerly in nutmeg 
cultivation are now planted with cocoa-nut and other fruit trees. 



NUTMEGS AND MACE. 



487 



wliich, although not so valuable as the nutmeg, yield a fair return for 
the cai^ital and labour expended. The Chinese have, however, lately 
commenced to replant the nutmeg tree, and with every prospect of 
success. 

In 1867,485,123 cwts. of nutmegs valued at 50,559Z., and 5416 cwts. 
of mace, valued at 7354/., were shipped from the Straits Settlements. 

Oiu" imports of unenumerated spices from Singapore in the last five 
years (exclusive of pepper) are stated below ; Singapore is, however, 
the entrepot of the Eastern Archipelago, and receives large quantities 
from Sumatra and Borneo : 





Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 








lbs. 


£ 






1871 


640,544 


45,821 






1872 


1,282,066 


112,242 






1873 


552,719 


48,867 






1874 


336,882 


45,327 






1875 


432,992 


54,656 





From the west coast of Sumatra there was shipped in 1872, 1953 
IDiculs of nutmegs, and 403 piculs of mace ; in 1873, 2237 j^iculs of 
nutmegs and 568 of mace. In 1874, from the southern division of 
Padang alone, 284 piculs of nutmegs and 28 of mace; 130 piculs 
of the nutmegs were sent to Pinang. 

The cultivation of nutmegs is much in favour in J amaica just now, 
and 2000 plants are under propagation in the Government Botanic 
Garden for distribution. A fine nutmeg tree there is stated to have 
had upwards of 4000 unusually large fruit upon it. The value, cal- 
culating ninety nuts to the pound, would be 44 lbs., worth at least 3s., 
or in all 61 Us. 

The Island Botanist reports as follows on the culture of the nut- 
meg:— 

" This plant, I consider, is the most generally prized, as it is un- 
doubtedly the most frequently applied for of all that are imder 
cultivation. Notwithstanding this, and that the plant has been intro- 
duced into this island some forty or fifty years, and has yielded 
thousands of fruits annually during the greater part of that time, 
there are, as nearly as I am enabled to judge, not more than probably 
fifty bearing trees in the whole island; and this, too, in a country 
where the tree yields fruit of the finest quality, and in the utmost 
profusion. The great majority of the bearing trees are in the imme- 
diate vicinity of Bath. In my recent tour throughout a great part of 
the island I found that nutmegs were unknown to cultivation, although 
large tracts through which I passed are admirably adapted for their 
growth. I consider that the cultivation of this tree deserves the 
utmost encouragement, especially amongst the peasantry, as I am 
strongly inclined to think that as a remunerative industry even coff'ee 
would find in it a very formidable rival. 

" The nutmeg trees at Castleton are now beginning to bear, and 
about 150 plants have been recently planted, and this number will 



488 



NUTMEGS AND MACE. 



soon be augmented. I expect that one acre of plants will be shortly 
set out. I have also made arrangements at the Bath Garden for 
bedding all the seeds obtainable there, and these will probably 
amount to 3000 plants a year, which I purpose offering for sale at 
a moderate rate per hundred. This tree succeeds best in a rich, deep, 
friable soil, over a gravelly subsoil forming a natural drainage. 

" The form of the ground ought to be undulating, to assist the 
running off of all superfluous water, as there is no one thing more 
injurious to the plant than water lodging around its roots; although, 
in order to thrive well, it requires an atmosphere of the most humid 
kind. This tree begins to bear about the seventh year ; and a few 
years after the average annual yield from each tree may be calculated 
at from 1000 to 5000 fruit." 

Nutmegs are valued a good deal according to size, the largest being 
the best ; thus, those of 68 to the lb. will fetch 4s. 8d. ; while very 
small, 120 to the lb., will be worth but only half that price. 

The shape of the nutmeg varies a good deal, being spherical, oblong 
and egg-shaped, but the nearer they approach sphericity of figure the 
more highly are they prized. Those of good quality ought to be nearly 
round, and the largest and finest weigh on the average about a quarter 
of an ounce each. They should have an agreeable flavour, but rather 
bitter, and when pierced exude an oily juice. 

It was at one time thought, for a few years, that the culture would 
receive a great development in French Guiana, but at last, either from 
want of proper care, or public infatuation giving way to complete in- 
difference, the nutmeg plantations were gradually given up. Notwith- 
standing repeated trials in various colonies in the Indian Ocean, West 
Indies, and America, the nutmeg does not seem to thrive well, and 
succeeds only in the localities of the Indian Archipelago. 

In 1864, there was a small export of 5000 lbs. of nutmegs and 900 
lbs, of mace from Eeunion, and in 1871 the shipments were rather 
larger, but the production has declined altogether. 

A fraud is often practised in disguising worm-eaten nuts by filling 
up the holes with mastic. They are also often first deprived of their 
essential oil by distillation, or steeping in alcohol. Nutmegs yield 
when distilled with water a volatile or essential oil of nutmegs, in the 
proportion of about 2 J per cent., and mace an oil of nearly similar 
properties. A concrete oil, known as nutmeg butter, is also imported 
from the Moluccas ; it is prepared by heating nutmegs and afterwards 
submitting them to pressure. The Myristica sebifera, of South America, 
also yields an oil by expression. 

Wild nutmegs of a longer shape are the produce of Myristica fatua, 
or tomentosa, and are often imported. Lieut. Cameron states that in 
his explorations in Central Africa he met with large groves of wild 
nutmeg trees. A wild nutmeg is also yielded by a Brazilian tree, 
Cryptocarya moscliata. A false nutmeg, called in Guiana the Ackawa 
nutmeg, is the fruit of Acrodiclidium Camara. Another kind has occa- 
sionally been imported on the Continent from Madagascar and Bourbon 
under the name of clove nutmegs, or ravensara nuts; they are the 
produce of Agathophyllum aromaticum. 

There are several other kinds of nutmegs derived from different 



CASSIA AND OTHER SPICE BAEKS. 



489 



species of Myristica, wliicli are in use in various parts of the world, 
but as they are much inferior in their qualities, and are not found in 
commerce, it is unnecessary to describe them here. 

Maoe is the reticulated scarlet arillus enveloping the thin, dark 
brown, glossy, oval shell which covers the nutmeg. When dry, the 
mace becomes yellow, brown and brittle. In preparing it, it is said to 
be first steeped in a weak salt solution, which renders it supple and 
preserves the aromatic principle. 

In 1830, the duty on mace was higher than on nutmegs, being 3s. 6d. 
per lb. on British produce, and 4s. 6d. on foreign ; the home consump- 
tion then was 12,600 lbs. In 1835, it had increased to 18,835 lbs. 
The duty was then fixed at 2s. 6d. for all descriptions, and in 1852 the 
consumption was 21,485 lbs. In 1853, the duty was lowered to Is. 
per lb., and the consumption had increased in 1859 to 34,714 lbs. 

The following figures show the imports of mace as far as they have 
been officially recorded by the Board of Trade : — 



Lbs. 

1862 81,689 

1863 48,649 

1864 55,175 

1865 63,563 

1866 110,789 



Lbs. 

1867 26,269 

1868 88,966 

1869 75,922 

1870 60,869 



The shipments of mace from Java in 1871 were 2101 piculs, and 
from Padang, in Sumatra, 457 piculs. 

Nutmegs and mace are employed chiefly as condiments for ordinary 
purposes, for which they are admirably suited by their agreeable taste 
and stimulating properties. As remedial agents they owe their activity 
to the volatile oil which they contain, and when administered in 
moderate quantities, produce the usual effect of the other spices. Their 
use requires caution in those subject to apoplexy and other cerebral 
affections, as they possess narcotic properties. Taken in small quanti- 
ties these spices assist digestion, dispel flatulency, strengthen the 
viscera, and stop dysentery. 

Cassia and Other Spice Barks. — Many of the trees of the Laurel 
family, to which the Cinnamon and Cassia belong, contain an aromatic 
principle, which resides in many parts, such as the bark, leaves, and 
fruit. Of this we have instances in the berries and leaves of the 
bay {Laurus nohilis) ; the latter are used for flavouring custards, pud- 
dings, &c. Figs imported into this country are also packed in them. 

Laurel leaves in Greece are more aromatic than in other localities.- 
It seems as if in warmer climates the aromatic principles of plants 
are more profusely developed, like the bitter and astringent principles 
in the colder regions. In America the bark and wood of Sassafras 
officinale have a pleasant aromatic odour, which leads to a considerable 
commerce. In the United States the essential oil obtained from it is 
used to give a pleasant flavour to effervescing drinks, tobacco, and 
toilet soaps. The bark of a Brazilian tree, Mespilodaphne pretiosa, 
resembles the true sassafras in odour. There is a thick sassafras bark 
produced in Burmah, Martaban, and other parts of India. An eastern 
sassafras is obtained in Sumatra from Sassafras Fartlmioxylon, and in 



490 



CASSIA AND OTHEK SPICE BABKS. 



Nepal from S. glanduUferum ; while the bark of Benzoin odoriferum 
of North America is also highly aromatic. The bark of Atherospermum 
moschatum of Tasmania is pleasantly aromatic. The aromatic Malambo 
bark (Croton Malamho), of Central America, is said to be used in the 
United States for adulterating spices. 

The spice bush (Oreodaphne Calif ornica) a lofty tree, has leaves 
which are pungently aromatic, and the spice wood (Lindera Benzoin) 
found in Western Virginia has a highly aromatic wood. Sassafras 
nuts, the large separate cotyledons of two Lauraceous trees of Brazil, 
are also occasionally met with in commerce and used for flavouring. 
Another member of the Laurel family, Daphiidium Cubeha of Nees 
von Esenbeck, has berries which have an agi-eeable warm aromatic 
flavour, and are used as spice by the Chinese. 

In ancient Italy the berries and flower buds of the myrtle were 
used as a kind of sj^ice. The modern Tuscans and the people of 
Syria and Palestine still frequently substitute these for pepper or 
flavouring. 

Cassia Bark. — Messrs. Hanbury and Fluckiger have furnished 
more ample details respecting this bark than had previously been 
published, and they state that various species of Cinnamomum occur- 
ring in the warm countries of Asia from India eastward, afford what is 
termed in commerce Cassia bark. The trees are extremely variable 
in foliage, and inflorescence, and aromatic properties, and the dis- 
tinctness of several of the species laid down even in recent works is 
still uncertain. At present, neither botanists, pharmacologists, or 
spice dealers are able to point out characteristics by which to dis- 
tinguish the barks of this group, or even to give definite names to 
those found in our warehouses. 

The bark which bears par excellence the name of cassia, or cassia 
lignea, and which is distinguished on the Continent as Chinese cinna- 
mon, is a production of the provices of Kwang-se and Kweichan in 
Southern China. Cassia lignea is also produced in the Kliasyo moun- 
tains in Eastern Bengal, whence it is brought down to Calcutta for 
shipment. In this region there are three species of cinnamon, grow- 
ing at 1000 to 4000 feet above the sea-level, and all have bark with 
the flavoui' of cinnamon, more or less pure ; they are Cinnamomum 
ohtusifolium, Nees; C. pauciflorum, Nees; and C. Tamala, Nees. 
C. iners, Reinw. a very valuable species occurring in Continental 
India, Ceylon, Tavoy, Java, Sumatra, and other islands of the Indian 
Archipelago, and possibly, in the opinion of Thwaites, a mere 
variety of C. Zeylanicum, but, according to Meissner, well dis- 
tinguished by its paler, thinner leaves, its nervation and the cha- 
racter of its aroma, would appear to yield the Cassia bark or wild 
cinnamon of Southern India. C. Tamala, Fr. Nees et Eberm, which, 
besides growing in Khasya, is found in the contiguous regions of 
Silhet, Sikkim, Nepal, and Kumaon, and even reaches Australia, 
probably affords some Cassia bark in Northern India. Large quan- 
tities of a thick sort of cassia have at times been imported from 
Singapore and Batavia, much of which is produced in Sumatra. In 
the absence of any very reliable information as to its botanical 



CASSIA AND OTHER SPICE BARKS. 



491 



sources, we may suggest as mother plants C. cassia, Bl. and G. Bur- 
manni, Bl. var. a. Ghinense, both stated by Teijsman and Binnendijk 
to be cultivated in Java. The latter species growing also in the 
Philippines, probably affords the cassia bark which is shipped from 
Manila {Pharmacogra-pMa). 

The bark is stripped off by running a knife along the branch on 
both sides, and then gradually loosening it, and after it is taken off it 
is suffered to lie for twenty-four hours, during which it undergoes a 
kind of fermentation, and the epidermis is easily scraped off. The 
bark soon dries into the quilted shape in which it is brought to 
market. In China it ranges in price from 8 to 25 dollars per picul. 
It is there used to flavour medicine, and for making incense. The 
extreme tender ends of the branches of the tree are also used as a 
spice. 

Of late years no separate account has been taken by the Board of 
Trade of Cassia bark, but we can get at some details of the special 
commerce by referring back to the official returns of a few years 
past. The imports and value of this spice bark were as follows 
in the years specified : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value: 


1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 


lbs. 

1,408,021 
454,538 
819,198 
9-^9,729 
580,560 
283,869 
580,141 

1,086,985 


£ 

46,575 
20,575 
35,705 
32,780 
22,142 
11,247 
20,180 
41,263 


1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 


lbs. 
885,936 
1,117,909 
349,349 
521,852 
568,212 
530,537 
875,991 


£ 

34,096 
43,481 
12,346 
23,579 
29,518 
25,072 
40,612 


If we trace the re-exports of cassia bark in the years for which the 
shipments have been enumerated, we find that there is but a small 
consumption of it in this country, not more than about 40,000 lbs. a 
year on the average. The bulk of the receipts go to the Continent, 
true cinnamon bark being preferred here. 

The re-exports of Cassia bark were in 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1866 
1867 
1868 


lbs. 
538,672 
534,735 
362,329 


£ 

25,963 
24,361 
18,693 


1869 
1870 


lbs. 
544,422 
611,123 


£ 

26,699 
27,192 



In 1872 the value of the Cassia lignea bark shipped from the 
fourteen Chinese ports open to commerce was 11,591,334 dollars; 
and in 1873, 14,007,924 dollars. Some Cassia bark is shipped from 
Padang to the United States. 

There has been a very large and steady increase in the export of 



492 



CINNAMON. 



this product year by year from Canton, as will be seen by the follow- 
ing figures : — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 


piculs. 
7,683 
8,374 
13,851 
23,514 
23,9g0 


dollars. 
130,030 1 
139,175 ! 
228,874 
39S,776 
455,113 


1867 
1868 
1869 
1871 
1872 


piculs. 

24,660 
36,055 
40,686 
61,220 
76,464 


dollars. 
440,885 
721,098 
860,486 


The imports of spices of all kinds from China into this country 
have been as follows (the bulk of this is Cassia bark) ; 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1870 
1871 

1872 


lbs. 
888,913 
597,101 
1,363,507 


£ 

32,695 
17,080 
65,683 


1873 
1874 
1875 


Ihs. 
951,896 
2,732,215 
1,206,598 


£ 

32,775 
80,190 
35,608 


Cassia Buds are the immature fruits gathered and dried of several 
species of Cinnamon, chiefly the Chinese Cassia lignea. They are 
used in confectionery, having the flavour and pungency of cassia. 
Tlie average quantity imported in each of the thirteen years ending 
with 1842 was 4023 lbs., and we consumed about 6700 lbs. 

We received in 


Year. 


QuantitJ^ 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1867 

1868 


lbs. 

7,355 
50,676 


£ 

467 
3,565 


1869 
1870 


lbs. 
39,861 
29,321 


£ 

3,000 
2,226 



No more recent returns have been published of the imports. In 
Southern India the more matured fruits of one of the varieties of 
Oinnamomum iners, Eeinw. are collected for use, but are very inferior 
to the Chinese cassia buds. 

When gathered young, the receptacles completely envelope the 
embryo seed, which progressively protrudes, but continues firmly em- 
braced by the receptacle. The buds are of various sizes, having 
the appearance of nails with roundish heads. If completely dried the 
receptacle is nearly black. 

Cassia buds are shipped from Canton, but the exports have much 
declined. Eondot estimated them as averaging in 1848 53,333 lbs. a 
year. In 1866 only. 31,066 lbs., and in 1867 but 22,000 lbs. were 
shipped from Canton. 

Cinnamon. — The Cinnamon of commerce is the aromatic bark of a 
species of laurel, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, Breyne. Its fruit is a 
small berry in the form of an olive, with a kernel. The bark is com- 



OINNAMON. 



493 



posed of thin layers which are separate, and which, cut in lengths, are 
exposed in the sun, and curl up in drying. Good cinnamon should be 
fine, thin, brittle, of a yellowish brown, and aromatic. It is one of 
the delicate spices of the table, and is also used in medicine. 

In the "Feuille de la Guyane" for 1820, of Guisan, page 339, it is 
represented as a very hardy plant, growing well in all situations, 
soils, and aspects, on the summits of mountains, on the borders of 
streams which wash its roots ; in alluvial soils, thoroughly or badly 
drained, it is stated to succeed well. This differs, however, from the 
opinions entertained in Ceylon, where cinnamon of a superior quality is 
restricted to sandy soils. Leblond remarks that every part of the 
tree is important, and can be applied to some useful purpose, the 
wood, leaves, fruit, and bark. The roots even yield, by distillation, a 
camphor of a better quality than that ordinarily used in medicine. 
The old trunks furnish resinous knots which have the odour of rose- 
wood, and can be advantageously employed for furniture ; the leaves 
furnish an oil appreciated by perfumers ; a distilled water from the 
flowers, besides the soft and pleasant odour, sweetens the worst breath, 
animates the spirits, and diffuses its pleasant perfume wherever it is 
used. A decoction of the fruit furnishes a useful wax. 

The cinnamon is raised most readily from seeds, although the fine 
kinds are propagated in Ceylon by layers, and they differ in the degree 
of aromatic principle or flavour just as much as the nutmeg varies 
in respect of size, but the quality of the seedlings can always be 
ascertained in the seedling bud by tasting the leaves. 

Cinnamon was held in high esteem in the most remote times of 
history. In the words of the learned Dr. Vincent, Dean of West- 
minster, it seems to have been the first spice sought after in all 
oriental voyages. Both cinnamon and cassia are mentioned as 
precious odoriferous substances in the Mosaic writings and the dif- 
ferent Biblical works, also by many of the writers of antiquity ; and 
from the accounts which have thus come down to us, there appears 
reason for believing that the spices referred to were nearly the same 
as those of the present day. That cinnamon and cassia were ex- 
tremely analogous, is proved by the remark of Galen, that the finest 
cassia differs so little from the lowest quality of cinnamon that the 
first may be substituted for the second, provided a double weight of 
it be used (Pharmacogrophia). This bark was an article of export 
from India in the time of the author of the Periplus of the Erythraean 
sea, and even long before it was much used among the masters of the 
ancient world. Nero is reported to have burnt a quantity of cinna- 
mon and cassia, at the funeral of Popposa, greater than the countries 
from which it was imported produced in one year. Marco Polo, the 
Venetian, incidentally mentions this spice in several places, but gives 
this name to wrong articles sometimes. Caesar Frederick, a country- 
man of Marco Polo, who travelled in Asia about a.d. 1563, describes 
the process of gathering the spice in Ceylon. 

The roots of the cinnamon tree are branchy and ligneous ; the bark of 
these roots has the pungent smell of camphor, with the delicious odour 
of cinnamon, and yields camphor by distillation. The wood of the 
tree is light, fibrous, and inodorous. The trunk is from 12 to 18 



494 



CINNAMON. 



inches iu diameter, rising to the height of from 20 to 30 feet ; it 
grows irregular and knotty ; the external bark is thick, rough, and 
scabrous, and of an ash colour ; the inner bark is reddish. The bark 
of the young shoot is often speckled with dark-green and light - 
orange colours. The branches are thick and spreading, and shoot 
forth horizontally or inclining downwards ; they are covered with 
numerous oblong leaves growing in pairs opposite to each other. 
When first developed, these leaves are of a bright red hue, then of a 
pale yellow, and when arrived at maturity of a dark olive colour. At 
full growth they are from 6 to 9 inches long, and from 2 to 3 inches 
broad. The upper surface is smooth and shining, and of a darker 
green than the under side. The petiole has the odour and taste of 
cinnamon. The plants bloom in January and February, and the seed 
ripen in June, July, and August. Many white flowers grow on one 
peduncle. Their smell, though not strong, is exceedingly pleasant, 
resembling a mixture of the rose and lilac. The fruit is an oval 
berry, larger than black currants, and adheres in the manner of an 
acorn to the receptacle, which is thick, green, and hexangular. The 
leaves when full grown emit a strong aromatic odour on being bruised, 
and have the pungent taste of cloves. 

The prepared bark of this tree is the cinnamon of commerce. 
Diversities in the quality of cinnamon do not appear to arise from any 
varieties of the plant, but from care and skill in the preparation, the 
soil and temperature of the country, the age and health of the plant. 
It is rarely found worth collecting except in the southern and western 
aspects of Ceylon. Beyond certain limits the bark is never of a 
good quality, as it is powerfully affected by local circumstances. 

The Karuwa of the Malabar coast has been considered by many 
botanists as identical with the Laiirus Cassia, but it is said that specific 
difference can be discovered between the cinnamon tree of Ceylon and 
the karuwa. The prepared bark of the karuwa is, according to good 
authority, inferior to the best Ceylon cinnamon. It is, however, 
allowed to be superior to the produce of the cinnamon tree which is 
found on the northern and eastern part of the island. Linnasus, 
deceived by the name of Laurus Cassia, was misled, and ascribes 
qualities to that tree which it does not possess. 

The cinnamon plant delights in a silicious soil, with an admixture 
of vegetable mould, in which only it produces the sweet taste, aro- 
matic smell, and the pale brown or russet colour which renders it so 
valuable as an article of commerce and useful as spice, for it has 
generally happened that plants, even of the genuine kind, when they 
grow in valleys or marshy ground, or on land subject to inundations, 
lose their characteristic properties ; two-ninths of the plants growing 
in Batticolea and Chilaw, allowed to be of the genuine kind, are 
deficient in smell and taste, and consequently less useful or valuable ; 
and the cinnamon grown in the valleys of Moronea Corle, the soil of 
which is marshy, yields a bark of inferior quality. Again, the plants 
which are raised in Bombay, from seeds and seedlings sent thither at 
an early period of the British rule in that island, although they grew 
luxuriantly, produced bark of an inferior quality, which was not 
valued as an article of commerce. 



CINNAMON. 



496 



Besides tlie inferiority in smell, taste, and colour, which invariably 
marks plants grown in any other than a silicious soil, a disadvantage 
of no little importance to the grower has been observed to follow. 
"Whilst the stumps of plants grown in silicious soil shoot forth rapidly, 
and are fit to be peeled a second time within a period of but four or 
five years, and produce bark superior in quality to that peeled at first, 
those grown on a hilly or marshy soil require not less than six years 
before they can undergo a second peeling, and yield bark less in 
quantity and inferior in quality to that peeled at first. 

When the ground is prepared for planting cinnamon, the low brush- 
wood and young trees are cut down, but lofty trees are allowed to 
remain at intervals, as it is found that the tender plants thrive better 
under shade than when exposed to the direct rays of the sun. The 
planting usually takes place when the seeds are ripe ; for this purpose 
a line is stretched across the ground, and, guided by it, the planter 
turns up about a foot square of ground at intervals of six or seven 
feet. The brushwood and branches having been previously burnt, 
their ashes are then spread upon the newly dug spots, and into 
each of them four or five cinnamon berries are sown in holes made 
with a dibble ; they are then covered with earth, and branches of 
trees are laid over the parts to prevent the earth from becoming 
parched, and to protect the young shoots as soon as they come forth. 
This takes place in about fifteen or twenty days ; sometimes the 
berries are sown in nurseries, and the young plants are transplated 
in the months of October and November. In favourable situations 
shoots attain the height of 5 or 6 feet in about six or seven years, and 
a healthy bush will then afford two or three shoots for peeling. In 
a good soil every second year from four to seven shoots may be cut 
from one tree ; thriving shoots of four years' growth are sometimes fit 
for cutting. As four or five seeds are usually sown in one spot, and 
in most seasons the greater part germinate, the plants grow in 
clusters not unlike a hazel bush. If the season be unusually dry 
many of the seeds fail, while the want of moisture is often fatal to 
the young shoots, so that it is sometimes necessary to plant a piece of 
ground several times successively. A plantation of cinnamon, even 
on good ground, cannot be expected to make much return until after 
the lapse of eight or nine years. This plant is sometimes propagated 
from shoots cut from large trees, by layers, or, lastly, by transplanting 
large stumps. 

The method of culture by seeds is considered the least advantageous, 
as the trees are longer before they arrive at perfection. 

If cultivated from shoots, the sprouts must be continually watered, 
or they will not thrive. Those selected for the purpose should be 
very young, not having more than three leaves ; if older they die. 

The third method, by layers, is recommended by Dr. Wight, since 
the numerous side branches w^hich issue from the bottom of the trunk 
always furnish a plentiful supply well adapted for layering. The 
transplanting of the old roots is a plan of modern adoption, and 
the practice is much approved, since they yield shoots of the usual 
size twelve months after they have been placed in the ground. Great 
care is, however, necessary in their removal, for should any of the 



496 



CINNAMON. 



rootlets, even of one-tenth of an inch diameter, receive injury, the 
whole root will certainly perish. Thunberg mentions a fifth method 
of cultivation, or rather a manner of obtaining cinnamon of superior 
quality. When the tree is cut down and a fire kindled on the spot to 
consume the stumps, the roots afterwards throw out a number of long 
straight shoots, which yield incomparably fine cinnamon. From 
these are cut the cinnamon walking-sticks, which in appearance 
resemble those of the hazel tree, and retain the taste and smell of 
cinnamon. They have no scent, however, unless when the bark is 
rubbed. 

The peeling process commences early in May, and continues until 
late in October. "When a Chilaw perceives a shoot of a proper growth, 
he strikes an instrument which resembles a small bill-hook obliquely 
into the shoot. He then gently opens the gash to discover whether 
the bark separates freely from the wood ; should this not be the case, 
he leaves the sucker for a future time. Some shoots never arrive at a 
fit state for decortication. Plants of several years' growth sometimes 
bear numerous marks of annual experiments made for the purpose 
of ascertaining whether the bark was in a favourable situation for 
removal. 

The shoots which are cut are usually from a half to three-quarters 
of an inch in diameter, and from three to five feet long. Some tra- 
vellers in former times asserted that the cinnamon was peeled from 
the tree while standing, and that nature provided the decorticated 
plant with a new bark. It is said that the experiment has been re- 
cently tried on several plants, all of which died in consequence. The 
shoots being cut are tied in bundles, and carried to sheds appropriated 
to the preparation of the cinnamon. 

Being cleared of small shoots and leaves, two longitudinal slits are 
made in the bark, which is gradually loosened with the convex side of 
the knife, and then usually half the circumference of the bark comes 
off in one entire slip. When the bark adheres firmly to the wood, it is 
strongly rubbed with the handle of the peeling-knife until it is disen- 
gaged and stripped off. The sections of the bark thus obtained are 
carefully put one into the other, the outer side of one piece being 
placed in contact with the inner side of another; they are then 
collected into bundles, and firmly pressed or bound together. 

In this state the bark is allowed to remain for twenty-four hours, 
or sometimes for a longer period, by which means a degree of ferment- 
ation is induced that facilitates the subsequent operations of removing 
the cuticle. After being subjected to this treatment, the interior side 
of each section of bark is placed on a convex piece of wood, and the 
epidermis, together with the greenish pulpy matter, immediately under 
it, is carefully scraped off with a curved knife. This is an operation 
requiring some nicety, for if any of the outer bark be allowed to 
remain, it gives an unpleasant bitterness to the cinnamon. In a few 
hours after the removal of the cuticle, the pieces are put one into the 
other, the bark dries, contracts, and gradually acquires the appearance 
of a quill or pipe, the whole forming a congeries of quills more than 
a foot in length. During the first day the cinnamon is suspended 
under shelter upon open flat forms ; on the second day it is placed 



CINNAMON. 



497 



on wicker work shelves, and exposed to the sun. When sufficiently 
dry it is made up into bundles of about 30 lbs. weight each; previous 
to preparing for shipment, they are subjected to the process of 
assortment. 

The bark of large shoots or thick branches of trees produces coarse 
cinnamon. Occasionally the external pellicle of this kind is scraped 
off, which thins the cinnamon and improves its colour. It is, however, 
even then thicker and of a darker colour than that of good quality, 
while it is of a very inferior flavour, and is disagreeably pungent. 
This sort is always rejected by the Inspectors as unfit to be exported 
to Europe. The bark of very young and succulent shoots is likewise 
of an inferior quality, and is of no commercial value. It is very thin, 
and of a light straw colour, having little flavour, and that evanescent. 
Shoots exposed during growth to the direct rays of the sun, have their 
bark more acrid and spicy than the bark of those which grow under a 
shade. A marshy soil rarely produces good cinnamon, its texture 
under the circumstances being cross-grained and spongy, while it 
possesses but little aroma. It is hardly possible to discover the 
cause which produces the varieties in the quality of the bark, since 
shoots from the same tree are found to yield cinnamon of very different 
qualities. 

The best Ceylon cinnamon is thin, smooth, and of a light yellow 
colour ; it admits of a considerable degree of pressure, and bends before 
it breaks, the fracture is thin and splintry ; it has an agreeable warm 
aromatic flavour, with a slight degree of sweetness. When masticated 
the pieces become soft, and seem to melt in the mouth. 

From cinnamon which has been rejected for shipment, an essential 
oil is usually extracted. The best oil of cinnamon sinks in water, but 
when inferior, it is of smaller specific gravity. A very large quantity 
of bark is required for obtaining only a small portion of oil: it is 
reckoned that 80 lbs. of newly-prepared cinnamon yield about 6^ oz. 
of heavy oil, and 2 J oz. of light oil. 

The total exports of cinnamon from Ceylon have been as follows : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




lbs. 


£ 




lbs. 


£ 


1850 


644,857 


64,487 


1863 


734,038 


36,702 


1851 


508,491 


50,849 


1864 


776,675 


38,833 


1852 


427,667 


42,767 


1865 


850,973 


42,549 


1853 


956,280 
784,284 


51,040 


1866 


890,484 
1,017,750 


44,524 


1854 


45,184 


1867 


50,888 


1855 


730,600 


36,089 


1868 


2,056,509 


102,825 


1856 


877,547 


45,370 


1869 


2,685,395 


134,270 


1857 


887,959 


52,574 


1870 


2,071,679 


103,584 


1858 


750,744 


37,537 


1871 


1,359,327 


67,966 


1859 


879,361 


43,972 


1872 


1,267,953 


64,748 


1860 


675,156 


33,758 


1873 


1,160,754 


58,038 
53,077 


1861 


845,218 


42,261 


1874 


1,132,191 


1862 


875,475 


43,776 


1875 


1,407,010 


70,352 



There was long an export duty on cinnamon in Ceylon; this 
was first imposed in 1832 on the abolition of the Government 

2 K 



498 



VANILLA. 



monopoly, and fixed at the rate of 3s. per lb. on the best, and 2s. on 
tbe second quality. It was then reduced in 1837 to 2s. Qd., and 2s. 
in 1841 ; on the 1st June, 1842, to Is. per lb. ; on the 1st September, 
1848, to 4:d. per lb., and a few years afterwards it was wholly 
abolished. 

The duties on imports levied by the British Customs on cinnamon 
were, in 1830, 6d. per lb. on British grown, and Is. on foreign. The 
home consumption then was 40,588 lbs. In 1841 the consumption 
had declined to 15,625 lbs.; the duty was then reduced 50 per cent., 
and in 1852 the consumption had recovered to 36,325 lbs. In the 
following year (4th June, 1853 ) the duty was lowered to ^d. per 
lb. alike on the British and foreign; the consumption of that year 
being 43,000 lbs., the consumption in 1859 had reached 50,789 lbs. 
In 1860 the duty was abolished, and, as has been already shown, the 
consumption was trebled in quantity. 

Vanilla. — One of the most profitable and least troublesome cultures 
of humid tropical climates, is certainly that of the Vanilla orchid, of 
which there are several species, as the true vanilla ( Vanilla planifolia, 
And., V. sativa, Scheede), V. aromatica ; the wild or simaroma, (F. syU 
vestris,) a variety of V. planifolia, and the pompona (F. Pomjpona). 
This orchid is indigenous to the hot regions of Eastern Mexico, but 
grows from thence to Peru, on the American continent, and has been 
diffused by cultivation through the West Indies, the Indian and 
Pacific Islands. The plant, which is rather fleshy, and has large 
green inodorous flowers, grows in moist and shady forests, climbing 
the trees by means of its aerial roots. 

Mexico. — The finest vanilla is the Mexican. The chief seats of pro- 
duction are the coast regions of the State of Vera Cruz, the centre of 
the culture being Jicaltepec, in the vicinity of Nantla. It is likewise 
obtained on the western declivity of the Cordilleras, in the State of 
Oaxaca, and in lesser quantity in those of Tabasco, Cheapas, and 
Yucatan. The eastern parts of Mexico exported in 1864, by way of 
Vera Cruz and Tampico, about 44,000 lbs. of vanilla, chiefly to Bor- 
deaux. Since then the production seems to have much declined, the 
importation into France having been only 15,112 lbs. in 1871, and 
4363 lbs. in 1872. Papautta, Vera Cruz, produces excellent vanilla. 
The value of the export of vanilla from Mexico in 1873 was 
473,038K. 

The culture is very simple. Shoots about 3 feet long having been 
fastened to trees on the approach of the rainy season, and scarcely 
touching the ground, soon strike roots attached to the bark, and form 
plants which commence to fruit in three years, and remain productive 
for thirty or forty. The plantations are cleared once a year from 
weeds and undergrowth. 

Several varieties are recognised by the growers. One, the " vanille de 
■ cochon," is so called from emitting an offensive smell whilst drying. 
The harvest begins about December, when the fruit becomes yellowish- 
green, as it is not allowed to arrive at maturity. There are two ways 
of preparing it for the market. In one method the fruit is allowed to 



VANILLA. 



499 



dry until the pod loses its green colour. Straw mats covered with 
woollen blankets are spread on the ground, and when these are warmed 
through, the fruits are spread on them and exposed to the sun. After 
a time they are wrapped in blankets, and placed in boxes covered with 
cloth, after which they are again exposed. In about twelve hours the 
fruits should become of a coffee colour, but if they do not the process 
is repeated. After about two months' daily exposure they are tied up 
in bundles of fifty, and packed in tin boxes. Five qualities of vanilla 
pods are known : the best is the primiera, the pods of which are twenty- 
four centimetres long, and proportionally thick. The second quality 
is called cMca prima, the pods are shorter, and two count as one ; 
the third, sacate, and the fourth, vesacate, are still smaller, four of the 
latter being reckoned for one ; they are gathered before they are ripe. 
The fifth and poorest quality is called hasura ; the fruit is very small, 
spotted, and .uch cut or broken about. 

The following is another method of preparing vanilla for the 
market : About 12,000 of the pods are strung together by their lower 
end, as near as possible to the footstalk ; " the whole are plunged for 
an instant into boiling water to blanch them ; they are then hung up 
in the open air and exposed to the sun for a few hours. By some 
they are wrapped in woollen cloths to sweat. Next day they are 
lightly smeared with oil by means of a feather or the fingers, and are 
surrounded with oiled cotton to prevent the valves from opening. As 
they become dry, on inverting their upper end, they discharge a viscid 
liquor from it, and they are pressed several times with oiled fingers to 
promote its flow. The dried pods, like the berries of pepper, change 
colour under the drying operation, grow brown, wrinkled, soft, and 
shrink to one-fourth of their original size. In this state they are 
touched a second time with oil, but very sparingly, because with too 
much oil they would lose some of their delicious perfume." 

In Guatemala the Indians of Vera Paz collect a good deal of vanilla 
growing wild in the woods along the banks of the river Polochia, and 
in the forests to the north-west of Coban, and this orchid is also 
found growing on the coast of Suchitepequez. In 1874, 431 lbs. were 
shipped from Guatemala. 

It appears somewhat remarkable that the cultivation of vanilla in 
the British West Indies has not been largely undertaken, as it would 
be attended with little difficulty, and might be made a source of much 
profit to the inhabitants. But even in Caraccas and Guiana, where the 
plant grows profusely in a wild state, it is almost entirely neglected. 
It has been attempted in Jamaica. 

Guadeloupe. — Some small attention has been given to the production 
in this French island. In 1869, 260 kilos, were gathered there ; in 
1871, 149 kilos, were shipped to France; in 1872, 1496 kilos, were 
raised ; and in 1874, 598 kilos. 

Brazil. — Vanilla is very badly prepared in Brazil ; in fact, no atten- 
tion is given to the culture — the wild pods are merely collected in the 
woods as they ripen. These vary in length in different districts. 
The Brazilian pods are in general much larger than those grown in 
Mexico. Those of the province of Sergipe are 8 to 10 inches long by 

2 K 2 



500 



VANILLA. 



6 to 12 lines broad ; those of Minaes are 6 to 9 inches long by 4 to 6 
lines broad. The ordinary pods found in British commerce are from 
3 to 8 inches long by a third to half an inch wide. The large Pompona 
pods are known as vanillons in France. The name vanilla is a 
diminutive of the Spanish vaina, a pod. 

The imports of vanilla into the United Kingdom in the years when 
a record was kept by the Board of Trade, were as follows : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


1867 
1868 


lbs. 
8,178 
6,846 


£ 

2,864 
2,164 


1869 
1870 


lbs. 

4,805 
10,785 


£ 

3,748 
9,706 



The chief use of vanilla is in jflavouring perfiunery, and confec- 
tionary, ices, creams, and especially chocolate. One pod is sufficient to 
flavour a pound and a half of chocolate, being ground with sugar for 
that purpose. The fragrance is said to act upon the system as an 
aromatic stimulant, exhilarating the mind, and increasing the energy 
of the animal system. It is occasionally employed on the Continent in 
cases of hysteria, and is used by the Spanish physicians in America as 
an antidote to poison and to the bite of venomous animals, as well as in 
other cases. A liquid used in Peru, where it is known as Baume de 
vanille, exudes from the open pods at perfect maturity. The fruits in 
time become covered with an efflorescence of fine needle-like crystals, 
which possess properties similar to those of benzoic acid ; when viewed 
through a microscope vdth polarized light they are very beautiful 
objects. 

In the ' Medical Flora,' it is stated that vanilla exercises a powerful 
action on the animal economy, and justifies the attributes of tonic, 
stimulant, and comforting, which are accorded to it. The truly active 
and strong impression which it makes on the nervous system by its 
fragrant aroma, and on the stomach when taken internally, is rapidly 
and sympathetically transmitted to all the organs, the functions of 
which it more or less accelerates. Hence, when the system is lowered, 
vanilla facilitates digestion and nutrition, augments the cutaneous 
transpiration or the secretion of urine, and acts as a tonic in various 
other ways. It is recommended in cases of dyspepsia, melancholy, 
hypochondria, and chlorosis, where the digestive functions are sluggish 
or torpid. 

It is much employed by the Spaniards in South America to cure 
various maladies, being reckoned stimulant and stomachic. 

Besides the large consumption of vanilla as a flavouring essence, it 
is also used to a small extent in scenting tobacco, snuff, and cigars, 
and as a perfume ; and more recently a new demand for vanilla has 
arisen, especially in Germany, the pod having been found to yield a 
fine brown colour. 

The quantitative determination of vanillin in vanilla shows that the 
per centage of this aromatic principle varies between 1 • 5 and 2 • 5 per 
cent. Mexican vanilla of prime quality was found to contain 1-69 



VANILLA. 



501 



per cent.; Bourbon vanilla, 1-91 and 2*48 per cent.; and Java 
vanilla, 2*75 per cent. The vanillin in the Bourbon and Java vanillas 
is associated with an unpleasantly odorous volatile oil. for which 
reason the Mexican variety, notwithstanding its inferiority in the 
quantity of the aromatic principle, is preferred, and commands a better 
price. 

The pods as received in Europe are made up in packets containing 
fifty each, and should be fresh, unctuous and very aromatic. The 
gathering commences towards the end of September. The pods, after 
they have been plunged for a moment in a vessel of boiling water, 
to blanch them, are then hung up in an airy place, and at this 
stage there exudes from them a viscous liquid which must be removed. 
The removal is facilitated by light pressure repeated two or three 
times a day. This desiccation is a difficult operation, and must 
proceed slowly. The pods are frequently oiled with mahogany-oil to 
render them supple and preserve them from insects ; they are also tied 
up with cotton thread to keep them from opening. These are delicate 
operations, and the rareness of complete success explains the high 
price of vanilla of the first quality. As soon as the pods are ready, 
no time is lost in wrapping them in oiled paper and packing them in 
tin boxes ; exposed to air they would speedily lose their aroma. . . . 
The Vanilla, when covered with the brilliant silvery efflorescence, 
caused by the essential salt contained by the fruit working its way out, 
is called vanille givree, and is preferred to all others. This efflore- 
scence sometimes makes its appearance on a pod two or three years 
after its preparation for market ; kept in a hermetically closed box it 
will retain its perfume for many years. Vanilla is despatched in tin 
boxes weighing generally from 17 to 18 kilogrammes (or about 37 
to 39 lbs.). The buyer should assure himself that the packets in the 
box are entire, and that the pods are of the same length. Frauds 
are often practised in the retail sale of vanilla. Some unscrupulous 
persons impart a perfume by means of oil of benzoin to old dried-up 
pods, soak them in a mixture of oil of sweet almonds and balm of Peru 
to restore their softness, and dust them with salt to give them the 
desired crystalline efflorescence. 

Beunion.^ — The introduction of the culture in this island dates from 
about a quarter of a century ago, having been taken up after the 
failure of the sugar-cane between 1850 and 1856. In 1857, 1917 
kilos, were exported to France ; in 1858, 2841 kilos. ; and in 1861, 
nearly 40,000 lbs. were exported, amounting in value to nearly 
lOOjOOOZ. As the plant not only yields fine returns pecuniarily, but 
is an ornament to the garden, a very large proportion of the popula- 
tion are engaged in its cultivation — plants being found in every 
garden — • and this fine industry is now with coffee the mainstay of the 
island. 

A good deal of attention has been of late given to vanilla pro- 
duction here. In 1871, the number of hectares under culture with 
vanilla was 593, and the produce 56,203 lbs., of the approximate value 
of 153,282Z., raised at the cost of little more than 5100/. In 1874, 
the produce was 44,000 kilos., valued at 4,098,600 francs. 



502 VANILLA. 



The gradual progress made is shown by the following figures : 



Year. 


Hectares. 


Produce. 


Year. 


Hectares. 


Produce. 






kilos. 






kilos. 


1864 




13,412 


1870 


334 


18,512 


1866 


223 


15,494 


1871 


593 


25,547 


1867 


218 


16,162 


1872 


1,562 


19,375 


1868 


230 


15,041 


1873 


671 


50,695 


1869 


303 


19,063 


1874 


1,563 


43,959 



The hectare is nearly IJ English acres, and the kilo, a little more 
than 2 lbs. avoirdupois. 

In Eeunion, vanilla is prepared in two ways with boiling water 
according to local practice, and by drying in a furnace in the Mexican 
style. Bourbon vanilla is generally shorter and less intense in colour 
than Mexican, and commands a lower price. 

The British Consul at Eeunion, in his report dated May 1, 1875, 
states, " The great demand for this perfume latterly in the markets of 
Europe has brought large profits to the planters of it, and the planta- 
tions have multiplied on all sides to such a degree that the next crop 
will double that exported this year, which amounted to 20,854 kilos., 
and the quantity which will appear in the market towards the month 
of August next is calculated at about 40,000 kilos. Unless circum- 
stances arise which are at present unforeseen, and also by reason of 
the newness of some of the plantations, the colony can produce in two 
or three years from 50,000 to 60,000 kilos, of vanilla. I learn that 
this cultivation is also extensively carried on in Madagascar and 
Mauritius, and it is feared by persons interested that this extended 
cultivation will create a supply too great for the demand, or, in other 
words, that prices will go down." 

Vanilla is cultivated more particularly by the small proprietors 
than by the great. Its produce assists a part of the population who 
are averse to work, and the small extent of whose lands has not 
allowed them hitherto to think of attempting a cultivation like that 
of the sugar-cane, maize, manioc, or cofiee, which would require the 
assistance of labourers or field-hands. Provided the soil be fertile, 
moist, and shaded, it needs but a small space to accommodate thousands 
of vanilla plants, and the produce, being of considerable value, yields 
to the cultivator a profit which no other plant on the island can give. 
The crop of Eeunion in 1864 sold at an average of 50s. the pound, 
therefore a sum of 74,000Z. was circulated, principally among the 
small planters and coloured population. It would be rash to expect 
such prices in future, but even admitting a reduction to 30s. the 
pound, it would still be advantageous to continue this cultivation. 

For exportation in good condition, vanilla should be packed in tins 
well soldered, in quantities of about 10 lbs. 

In December, 1868, when the market was glutted, vanilla realised 
but 6s. a pound : subsequently it went up at a bound. It was 15s. 
per lb. in March, 1869 ; 28s. per lb. in August, 1871 ; 45s. in August, 
1873 ; 57s. to 60s. in 1875 ; and now it is quoted at 20s. to 40s. 



PIMENTO, OR ALLSPICE. 



503 



Mauritius. — It was from Eeunion that the vanilla orchid was carried 
to Mauritius. I have not the returns of the exports for the last few 
years, but the shipments from that island up to 1874, with the declared 
values, were as follows : 



Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Year. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




lbs. 


£ 




lbs. 


£ 


1865 


5,025 


1,520 


' 1870 


4,986 


2,860 


1866 


4,427 


1,456 


1871 


4,919 


3,345 


1867 


5,184 


1,488 


1872 


7,563 


10,560 


1868 


4,014 


964 


1873 


5,546 


12,216 


1869 ■ 


5,351 


2,004 


1874 


13,435 


33,061 



A small quantity of that shipped is not raised in the island, but 
is imported produce. 

There is a somewhat extensive cultivation of vanilla in Java. The 
culture on a systematic basis was introduced in 1841 by M. Teysmann, 
Director of the Botanic Gardens at Buitenzong. He introduced the 
artificial process of fecundation with beneficial results. 

There were 2 6 J- hectares under culture with vanilla in Tahiti in 
1874, the produce being 2040 kilos., valued at 102,200 francs. 

Among the vegetable odours assimilating somewhat to vanilla are 
the Faham leaves, of Mauritius, from another orchid, Angrcecum 
fragrans, which somewhat resembles the perfume of vanilla and Ton- 
quin beans. The leaves of a few other orchids, such as Orchis fusca, 
dried carefully, also possess the odour of those of the Faham. 

Pimento, or Allspice. — This spice, of large consumption, is a West 
Indian product, the fruit of a beautiful lofty evergreen tree, the Pimenta 
officinalis, Lindley, Myrtus Pimenta, Linn. Eugenia Pimenta, Dec, 
Jamaica enjoys the monopoly of supplying the markets of the world. 
Every attempt to carry the seeds to San Domingo and Cuba and to 
propagate it there has failed, and though the tree is found in Yucatan, 
the fruit is not exported thence. 

The Pimento walks are situated in the mountains on the north side 
of the island, where the trees grow in hundreds. It is a white-trunked 
shapely tree, not unlike in form and growth an English apple tree, 
but with a thicker, richer foliage, and dark glistening leaves, aromatic 
like its fruit, and resembling those of the myrtle, to which family it 
belongs. The trunk is white, because every year the bark strips. 
Nature seems to have intended that some useful purpose should be 
served by the bark, but hitherto it has not been made available com- 
mercially. The tree blossoms twice, but only bears once a year. The 
blossom that holds and sets to fruit appears in April. The tree grows 
spontaneously, and seems to mock all the labours of man in his 
endeavours to extend or improve its growth ; not one attempt in fifty 
to propagate the young plants or to raise them from the seeds, in parts 
of the country where it is not found growing spontaneously, having 
succeeded. The usual method of forming a new Pimento plantation (in 
Jamaica it is called a "walk") is nothing more than to appropriate a 
piece of woodland in the neighbourhood of a plantation already exist- 
ing, or in a district where the scattered trees are found in a native 



504 



PIMENTO, OR ALLSPICE. 



state, the woods of whicli being felled, the trees are suffered to remain 
on the ground till they become rotten, and perish. In the course of 
twelve months after the first season, abundance of young Pimento 
plants will be found growing vigorously in all parts of the land, being, 
without doubt, produced from ripe berries scattered there by the birds, 
while the fallen trees, &c., afford them both shelter and shade. At the 
end of two years it will be proper to give the land a thorough clean- 
ing, leaving such only of the Pimento trees as have a good appearance ; 
these will then soon form groves, and, except for the first four or five 
years, require very little subsequent attention. In July and "August, 
soon after the trees are in blossom, the berries become fit for gather- 
ing, the fruit not being suffered to ripen on the tree, as the pulp in 
that state, being moist and gelatinous, is difficult to cure, and when dry 
becomes black and tasteless. It is impossible, however, to prevent 
some of the ripe berries from mixing with the rest, and if the propor- 
tion of them be great, the price of the commodity is considerably 
injured. It is gathered by the hand. One laboui'er on the tree 
employed in gathering the small twigs bearing the branches, will give 
employment to three below (who are generally women and children) 
in picking the berries, and an industrious picker will fill a bag of 
70 lbs. in the day. It is then spread on a terrace and exposed to the 
sun and air for some days, in the course of which it loses its green 
colour and becomes of a reddish-brown; when perfectly dry the 
stalks are removed, it is passed through a fanner, bagged, and is ready 
for shipment. The term sometimes used to denote the in-gathering 
of the crop is not picking, but " breaking," because, with each cluster 
of berries a portion of the branch is broken off, the tree thriving all 
the better for the spoliation. The returns from a Pimento walk in a 
favourable season are prodigious. A single tree has been known to 
yield 150 lbs. of the raw fruit, or 1 cwt. of the dried spice, there 
being commonly a loss in weight of one-third in curing; but this, 
like many other of the minor productions, is exceedingly uncertain, 
and perhaps a very plenteous crop occurs but once in five years. 

Before the war with Russia, there was a large demand for Pimento 
in that country for use in spiced bread, but during the blockade it was 
found that a tree growing on the banks of the Amoor yielded a bark 
which, when grated, was pungent enough to yield a spice, and the 
Russian market was thus lost. 

The acreage under Pimento seems to vary. In 1871 it was returned 
at 6902 acres, in 1874 it was only 1392 acres. Between 1830 and 1850 
the crops ranged from 8,000,000 lbs. to 5,500,000 lbs. The following 
have been the exports from Jamaica : 





Lbs. 




Lbs. 


1866 


, 4,866,239 


1871 .. , 




1867 


.. 7,595,800 


1872 .. . 


.. 5,140,898 


1868 


.. 4,373,259 


1873 , 


,. 6,024,551 


1869 


, 6,575,249 


1874 


, 5,762,256 


1870 


.. 5,243,109 


1875 , , 


.. 5,262,797 



The United States takes about one-third of the Jamaica crop. 

In 1789, Browne, in his 'History of Jamaica,' stated the export of 
Pimento to be 438,000 lbs,, valued at 22,000/. In 1805, our imports 



CLOVES. 



505 



were 2,257,000 lbs., the duty paid on whicli was 38,063Z. In 1826, 
we imported 2,000,000 lbs. Tlie crops and shipments fluctuate with 
the seasons, and according to the price obtainable. This has fre- 
quently fallen as low as l^d. per pound, making it scarcely worth 
the expense of picking. In 1850, the imports into the United Kingdom 
were 1022 tons ; in 1855, 2115 tons, of which 1200 tons were re- 
exported; in 1860, the imports were 1000 tons; in 1865, 1279 tons; 
and in 1875, 2350 tons. The following shows the imports more in 
detail for a series of years, as far as the Board of Trade returns 
officially particularise this spice : 



Cwts. 

1862 30,018 

1863 29,268 

1864 42,340 

1865 25,454 



Cwts, 

1867 46,798 

1868 16,279 

1869 29,557 

1870 20,401 



In 1870 there would seem to have been no re-exports. A quarter of 
a century ago we only consumed here about 400,000 lbs. of Pimento 
per annum; now about half the imports are used at home, and the 
remainder shipped to the Continent. The duty of 5s. per cwt. levied 
on this spice was repealed in 1860. 

The berry of Allspice is globose, one-seeded, black, rather variable 
in size, but commonly the size of a pea, from two-tenths to three-tenths 
of an inch in diameter. All the plant, especially the unripe fruit, 
abounds in an essential oil (3 to 4 per cent.) which is a powerful 
irritant, and is often used, like oil of cloves, to allay toothache. The 
bruised berries are carminative, stimulating the stomach, promoting 
digestion, and relieving flatulency. The chief use of Pimento is as a 
culinary spice, for which it is largely employed both in Europe and 
America. It has an agreeable pungent spicy flavour, much resembling 
that of cloves, for which, when ground, it is often sold. The berries 
have a similarity in smell and taste to cloves, juniper berries, cinnamon 
and pepper, or rather a peculiar mixture of all combined, whence the 
name of Allspice or Jamaica pepper. 

The Mexican spice called "Pimienta do Tabasco," coming from 
Tampico, is probably the " Piment Tabago " of Guibourt ; it is some- 
what larger and less aromatic than the Jamaica Allspice, and is 
believed to be derived from a variety of the Jamaica species (P. 
officinalis). The wild clove tree Eugenia (Pimenta) acris, Wight and 
Arnott, and P. Pimento, Griseb, afford analogous aromatic products, 
but do not appear much in commerce. A Pimento plantation was 
tried in Tobago, but it was abandoned for sugar cane. 

Oil of Pimento has substantially the same composition as oil of 
cloves. Pimento is used in tanning, striking with a persalt of iron, 
an inky black, and a patent has recently been taken out in Jamaica 
for the employment of the leaves as a tanning material. The tree 
furnishes walking sticks and umbrella handles that are in great 
request in Europe. 

Cloves are the dried calyces or flower-buds of the Eugenia caryo- 
phyllata, Caryophyllus aromaticus, Lin. 

In British commerce they are chiefly distinguished by their places 



606 



CLOVES. 



of growth, and rank in the following order, Penang, Bencoolen, Ain- 
boyna, and Zanzibar. There also enter into commerce as secondary 
products, clove stalks and mother cloves, or the dried unripe fruit. 
Clove stalks are largely shipped from Zanzibar and Eeunion. 

This elegant tree grows spontaneously in the Moluccas, and was 
from thence carried to Mauritius and Bourbon, French Guiana, and 
the West Indies. When the Dutch took possession of the Portuguese 
territories in the East Indies, they compelled the people to destroy 
the clove trees so as- to concentrate the culture in the Amboyna 
Islands and Ternate. 

After being gathered, the ■ cloves are prepared for shipment by 
smoking them on hurdles, covered with matting, near a slow wood 
fire, to give them a brown colour, and they are further dried in the 
sun. They may then be cut off from the flower branches, and will 
be found to be purple-coloured within, and fit to be packed in bales 
for the European market. In some places they are scalded in hot 
water previously to being smoked, but it is not a practice very gene- 
rally in vogue. 

Cloves are produced in the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. The total 
average quantity produced is about 7,000,000 lbs., valued at 85,000Z. 
In 1863 the crop was a total failure. In the following year it was 
much above the average. Some three or four years ago a hurricane 
devastated Zanzibar, and the consequence of this disaster was to 
destroy nearly every clove tree in the island. 

Cloves arrive sparingly from Amboyna, the shipments from Java 
in 1870 were 1226 piculs, 3200 piculs in 1872, and 5000 piculs 
in 1874. In 1874 there were 290,000 clove trees, of which 161,260 
were in bearing. In Ternate the number of clove trees on the 
average of the three years ending 1874 was 8000. 

In Brazil the cloves of DicypelUum caryophyllatum, which are re- 
markable for their fine aroma, are largely employed in domestic and 
medicinal use. 

The following figures give the import of cloves into the United 
Kingdom : — 

Lbs. Lbs. 

1845 414.486 1860 981,308 

1850 749,646 1865 3,339,184 

1855 864,339 1870 1,089,667 

In 1870, the last year for which there are distinct accounts, the 
following were our sources of supply : — 





Quantity. 


Value. 




lbs. 


£ 


Holland (Eastern Possessions) , . 


83,623 


1,918 


Egypt 


115,309 


1,386 




757,390 


9,845 




75,345 


970 




.S3, 669 


1,848 




24,331 


407 




1,089,667 


16,374 



( 507 ) 



INDEX. 



Abaca, or Manila hemp, 469 
Achiote, 388 
Ackawa nutmeg, 488 
Adjoue, pressed datecake, 290 
African ginger, 484 
Ajonjoli, 419 

Alang-alang, a grass, 74, 79 
Alizarine, 371 

Alkaloids of popular beverages, 3 
Alkanet root, 391 
Amelonado cocoa, 8 

Amendoum, a name for the ground- 
nut, 190 
Analysis of the candle-nut, 427 

of cocoa, 4, 6 

of cocoanut, 231 

of ground-nut meal, 407 

of plantain fruit, 457 

of rice, 315 

of sorghum, 337 

of spiked millet, 342 

of varieties of Indian com, 300 

Angolita, a name for the cocoa pod, 22 
Annotta dye, 388 

imports into the United King- 
dom, 390 

statistics of production in the 

French colonies, 389 
Archenda, 391 
Are, definition of, 250, 363 
Areca palm, see Betelnut 
Arnotto, 388 

Arrack from the gomuti palm, 248 

shipped from Ceylon, 246 

Arroba, definition of, 23 
Arrowroot, culture of, 345 

culture in Bermuda, 344 

culture in India, 347 

culture in Jamaica, 344 

culture in Natal, 345 

culture in St. Kitts, 345 

culture in St. Vincent, 345 

culture in New South "Wales, 348 

culture in Queensland, 348 

culture in Pacific Isles, 349 

statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 343 
Assam Company, 91, 93 

Bandala, coarse plantain fibre, 469 
Bajree, 341 



Ball am rice, 317 
Bamboo palm, 291 
Banana, 457 

uses of the sap, 464 

Bananas, dried, 462 

grown at Panama, 463 

Bancoul nuts, 427 
Barbacues, 32 

Barre, a name for safflower seed, 418 
Barrel of rice, definition of, 334 
Bastard sago palm, 273 
Bay leaves, 489 
Bean cake and bean oil, 432 
Bechna, a name for millet, 338 
Beegah, definition of, 360 
Beetroot, quantity to make 1 cwt. of 
sugar, 217 

sugar, 128, 130, 213 

Benitche, spiked millet, 341 
Bennie seed, 419 
Bergamot oil, 439 
Betelnut palm, 282 

Betelnuts, extensive use of, in the 
East, 283 

shipments from Ceylon, 285 

Betel pepper leaf, 280 

Bihai, wild stock of the plantain, 465 

Bitter orange, 439 

Bixin, 389 

Books of palm leaves, 264 
Bourbon coffee, 57 
Brazilian coffee, 69, 72 

consumed in the United States, 72 

Brazil tea, 117 
Bromclia fibre, 454 
Broom millet, 339 

corn, 335, 339 

Bucare trees,'what, 20, 21 

Cachapo, a maize bread, 313 
Caff'eine, 3 
California wines, 431 
Cally-areka, slices of boiled betel-nut, 
283 

Camelina seed, 422 

Canada, definition of, 145 

Candied lemon-peel, 447 j 

Candlenuts, 427 

Cane sugar, 128 

Cani, definition of, 363^ 

Canna starch, 343 



508 



INDEX. 



Cape wines, statistics of exports, 434 
Cape Colony, wine production, 433 
Capsicine, 479 

Capsicum, various species of, 479 
Caracas cocoa, 14 
Cargo rice, 314 
Carnauba palm, 274 

uses of the leaves, 277 

wax, statistics of imports, 275 

Carolina rice, 819, 330 
Carthameine, 374 
Cartbamic acid, 377 
Cdsh-cuttie, 386 
Cassava root, 349 
Cassia bark, 490 

statistics of exports from Canton, 

492 

statistics of our imports, 491 

re-exports, 491 

buds, statistics of imports, 492 

lignea, 491 

Castor oil, varieties of the plant, 410 

oil, 422 

plant, 409 

cold drawn, 410 

Catechu or cutch, kinds of, 385 

from betel'Uuts, 386 

Cattacumboo, 386 
Cayenne pepper, 479 
Ceylon, cinnamon, 497 

cocoanutplantationsand value, 238 

native coffee shipped, 39 

coir, 240 

Chayote, chemical analysis of, 353 

description of, 353 

Chayroot, 363, 374 
Chemistry of the cocoanut, 230 
Chena, 340 

Chest of indigo, definition of, 359 
Cliest of tea, average weight of, 92 
Ciiica, a maize beer, 311 
Chillies, our sources of supply, 480 

varieties of cultivated, 479 

China tea, British imports, 82 
Chinese oils, 424 

sugar-cane. 337, 339 

Choluui, red, 338 
yellow, 337 

Cinchona culture in Ceylon, 38, 78 
Cinnamon bark, mode of peeling and 
preparing, 496 

culture in Ceylon, 493 

on, 497 

statistics of exports from Ceylon, 

497 

Citron, 439, 440 

Citrons, exports from Malaga, 448 
Clove nutmeg, 488 
Cloves, 505 
Clove stalks, 506 

Cocoa, botany and chemistry of, 1 

butter, 3 

consumption of, 6 



j Cocoa, exports from Trinidad, 9 

imports into Great Britain, 6 

production of the world, 5 

■ culture in Brazil, 23 

culture in Dominica, 11 

■ culture in Equador, 23 

culture in French Guiana, 12 

culture in Grenada, 12 

culture in Guadaloupe, 12 

culture in Martinique, 12 

culture in Mauritius, 13 

culture in the Neilgherries, 24 

culture in the Philippines, 25 

culture in "Reunion, 12 

! culture in St. Lucia, 12 

' culture in Trinidad, 7 

! culture in Venezuela, 13 

I Cocoanut, chemical analysis of, 231 

' culture in Ceylon, 

culture in Jnmaica, 242 

culture in Trinidad, 244 

enumeration of the varieties of, 

cultivated, 228 
fibre, 234 

husks, preparation of, 237 

kernels, see Copperah 

medicinal properties of, 230 

oil, 231 

oil shipped from the Pacific 

islands, 242 

oil, statistics of exports from Cey- 
lon, 240 

oil, statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 232 
palm, 220 

palm, statistics of, in different 

countries, 238, 239, 241 

shipped from Ceylon, 239 

statistics of imports into Bengal, 

238 
Coffee, 27 

I acres of land under, in Ceylon, 38 

borer, 47 

bug, 45 

consumption in the United King- 
dom, 28 

consumption in various countries, 

29, 30 

cultm-e in Ceylon, 36 

culture in Java, 72 

; curing and preparing for market, 

i 32 

insect, 63 

j instructions for planting, 52 

I leaf fungus, 50 

I our imports from South America, 

65 

pests, 43 

plant, various species of, 30, 31 

production, comparative, in Brazil, 

Java, and Ceylon, 77 

production of the world, 28 

production in British India, 50 



INDEX. 



509 



Coffee rat, 44, 49 

shipments from Madras, 55 

statistics of exports of Indian, 55,56 

culture in Arabia, 56 

culture in Bolivia, 67 

culture in Brazil, statistics of ex- 
ports, 69, 72 

culture in British. Guiana, 67 

culture in British Honduras, 65 

■ culture in Celebes, 35 

culture in Coorg, 55 

culture in Costa Rica, statistics of 

exports, 65 

culture in Cuba, 64 

culture in Dominica, 64 

culture in Ecuador — statistics of 

shipments, 66 

culture in French Guiana, 67 

culture in Guadaloupe, 63 

culture in Guatemala, 66 

culture in Hayti, 64 

culture in Jamaica — statistics of 

exports, 63 

culture in Java, 33 

culture in Martinique, 63 

culture in Mysore, 53 

culture in Natal, 59 

culture in Nicaragua, 66 

culture in the Pacific Islands, 72 

culture in the Philippines, 35 

■ culture in Porto Rico, 64 

culture in Reunion, 57 

culture in San Salvador, 66 

culture in Sumatra, 34 

culture in Timor, 35 

culture in Travancore, 55 

culture in Trinidad, 64 

culture in Venezuela, 67 

culture in West Africa, 57, 62 

culture in Wynaad, 53 

statistics of production in Ceylon, 

40 

Cohune palm, 294 
Coir, 230, 234 

imported into the United King- 
dom, 236 

rope, shipped from Ceylon, 235, 

239, 240 

■ statistics of exports from Ceylon, 

240 

yarn and rope, statistics of exports 

from India, 238 
yarn shipped from Ceylon, 239, 

240 

Colza culture in France, 415 

or rape oil, 413 

Concrete sugar, 153 
Conquin-tay, 463 

Coolies, number employed in Ceylon, 38 

Cooney, 386 

Coosumba, 376 

Copperah or Copra, 231 

shipped from Ceylon, 239, 240 



Corn, a general name for maize in 

North America, 31 

starch, 310 

Corralu, 338 

Costa Rico coffee, 65 

Cottha, definition of, 360 

Cotton seed oil, 408, 422 

seed, statistics of imports of, into 

the United Kingdom, 409 

seed oil cake, 422 

Crin vegetal, 293 
Criollo cocoa, 8, 14, 18 
Culloo, fermented toddy, 265 
Cumboo, 337, 341 

Cupuassa, cocoa made from this fruit, 24 
Curdee seeds, 379, 418 
Cutch, 384 

imports into the United King- 
dom, 

Cycads, sago from, 273 

Dacca plantain, 458 
Dari or Dhurra, 335 
Date cake, 290 

palm, number of varieties of, 285 

palm, wild, of India, 50 

palms, statistics of, 287, 289 

preparation of the fruit, 288 

statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 291 

yield from tree, 287 

statistics of production, 290 

sugar, 128, 213 

process of manufacture, 261 

Decalitre, definition of, 352 
Dekkele, 341 
Dhurra, 335 
Doum palm, 291 
DuUooah or doloo, 254 
Dwarf palm, 292 

leaves, 293 

Dyestuffs of commerce, 354 

Edangalie, definition of, 227 
Ejoo fibre, 248 

Engenhos, or sugar works, 146 

Faham leaves, 503 
Fanega, definition of, 14 
Faug, 383 
Fig bananas, 461 

Flax seed, imports into the United 

Kingdom, 403 
Flying fox, 226 

squirrel, 226 

Forastero cocoa, 8 

France, production of beet sugar, 216 

production of wine, 429 

Fruits of commerce, 426 
Fundungi, 342 

Gambiee, 384 

— ■ — species of the plant, 387 



510 



INDEX. 



Gambier, statistics of the imports into 

the United Kingdom, 388 
Ganta, definition of, 25 
Garancine, 371, 372, 374 
Garrah, a clay jar, 386 
Gingelie seed, 418 
Gingerbread palm, 291 
Ginger, commercial varieties of, 481 

exports from Jamaica, 482 

exports from India, 483 

exports from Sierra Leone, 484 

our sources of supply, 481 

preserved, 484 

statistics of om- imports, 481 

Glucose, or starch sugar, 217 
Glutinous rice, 323 
Gold of pleasure, 423 
Goldar, or sugar boiler, 157 
Gomuti palm, 248 

Goor or jaggery, Indian molasses, 157, 

253, 258 
Grapes, consumed in Paris, 428 

grown in the colonies, 433 

statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 426 
varieties of, grown in America, 

430 

Ground nuts — imports into Marseilles, 
404 

nuts, exports from the Gambia, 

405 

nut meal, analyses of, 407 

nut oil, 190 

Guarana, 3, 26 

of Brazil, description of, 26 

Guaranine, 3 

Guinea com, 335, 336 

Gurpatta, a refined date sugar, 254 

Hectaee, definition of, 12 

Henna, its uses, 390 

History of tea planting in India, 89 

Hogshead of sugar, weight of, 216 

Hominy, 310 

Horse plantain, 458 

Hungry rice, 342 

Indian corn, 295 

corn, chemical analyses of 

varieties of, 300 
corn, culture in the United States, 

296 

corn, instructions for cultivation, 

306 

millet, 336, 340 

tea, history of the rise and pro- 
gress, 89 

■ tea, imported for a series of years, 

82 

Indican in woad, 357 
Indigo, commercial varieties of, 354, 
358 

culture in Africa, 366 



Indigo culture in China, 364 

culture in Cochin China, 363 

culture in Colombia, 368 

culture in Costa Eica, 368 

culture in Central America, 369 

culture in Guatemala, 368 

culture in Japan, 364 

culture in Java, 365 

cultiu-e in New Granada, 369 

culture in Philippines, 366 

culture in Si am, 364 

culture in Southern States of 

America, 366 

culture in Venezuela, 369 

dry leaf and green leaf, processes 

of manufacture, 356 

exports from India, 359 

plants yielding the dye, 355 

sources of supply, 355 

statistics of imports, 354 

Indigotine, 363, 365 

Insect enemies of the cofiee tree, 43 

Italian millet, 340 

Jaggery, 249 

from Palmyra palm, 265 

Jamaica ginger, 482 
Japan tea, 82, 115 

tea, IBritisli imports, 82 

Japanese starches, 352 
Java cofiee, varieties of, 33 

cofiee, statistics of production, 

34 

tea, 113 

Jerunnee or syrup, 255 
Joarrie, 335 
Johnny cake, 310 

Kabong palm, 248 

Kaffir corn, 335 

Kala-til, 419 

Karuwa, 494 

Kelingoes, 266 

Ketan, glutinous rice, 327 

Khaur, 254 

Kilogramme, definition of, 12 

Kiln di'ying maize, 299 

Kittool fibre, 273 

Koda millet, 342 

Koungn yeen, or hill rice, 323 

Kudzu starch, 352 

Kukui oil, 429 

Kutki, 340 

Lakh, or lac of rupees— 10,000/., 98 

Lalang grass, 74, 79 

Laurel leaves, 489 

Lemon, 440 

Lemons in Sicily, 447 

Liberian cofiee, 51, 57, 58 

Lime, 441 

juice, exports from vnrious West 

India islands, 441 



INDEX. 



511 



Linseed, imports into the United King- 
dom, 403 

oil, 403, 422 

Litre, definition of, 25 
Losa, 284 

Lupis, fine plantain fibre, 469, 471 ; 

Mace, statistics of imports, 489 | 
Machinery for cocoanut oil pressing, 232 

for preparing coir fibre, 236 

Madder culture, 369 

culture in France. 372 

culture in Holland. 372 

culture in Italy, 371 

cultuie in Eussia, 372 

culture in L'nited States, 373 

roots, in:iports into the United 

Kingdom, 374 
Maize. 295 

beer, 311 : 

crop of the United States, 297, 307 i 

culture in Algeria, 313 

culture in Australia, 309 

culture in Austria, 312 

^ culture in Brazil, 309 

culture in France, 312 

cultm-e in Greece, 312 

culture in India. 309 

culture in Italy, 312 

cultiu-e in Portugal, 312 ! 

different names given to varieties, 

305, 311 , 
great number of varieties grown, i 

303 I 

starch, 313 i 

statistics of imports into the ' 

United Kingdom, 308 , 
two leading kinds, for table and 

for farm use, 300 

paper, 301 

Malabar ginger, 482 
Malaga raisins, 426 
Malambo bark, 490 
Mammoty, a kind of hoe, 74 
Mandarin orange, 440, 443 
Manila coffee, 36 
hemp, 469 

hemp, statistics of exports from 

the Philippines, 472 
hemp, statistics of imports into 

the United Kingdom, 473 

white rope, 472 

Manioc, or Cassava, 349 ; 
3Ianures for coffee, value of imports 

into Ceylon, 38 
Maple sugar, 128, 211 
Marseilles, the great entrepot for oil 

seeds, 422 
Martinique banana, 466 
Mate, 3, 27, 124 

statistics of exports from Brazil, 

127 

Maimd, definition of, 321, 357 



Mauritius, sugar exports, 166 
Meedo, a soft-grained rice, 323 
Melon-seed oil, 431 
Millets, statistics of production, 335 
Mocha coffee, 37, 56 
Molasses, exports from Cuba, 208, 209, 
210 

exports from St. Croix, 207 

om- sources of supply, 133 

production in Guiana, 138 

statistics of exports from Porto 

Eico, 207 

Moonghy. a common or inferior rice, 317 
Mountain rice, 324 

Mueller, Baron, on tea cullui'e, 83, 116 

Muid, definition of, 339 

Munjeet, 374 

Musas, description of, 455 

Muscatel grapes, 426 

Mush, 360 

Mustard, large quantity made in 
France, 418 

of commerce, 417 

seed, varieties of, 417 

Myi-tle berries, 490 

Natsiexg, a hard grain rice, 323 
Neroli oil, 439 

New South Wales wines, 436 
Niger seed, 421 
Ximphool. 254 
Nutmeg butter, 488 

cultm'e in the Banda islands, 485 

culture in Jamaica, 487 

culture in Singapore and. Pinang, 

486 

cultm-e in Sumatra, 487 

Nutmegs, statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 485 
wHd, 488 

Oil bean, 432 

in Indian corn, 299 

cake of the candle nut, composi- 
tion of, 428 

' cake, statistics of production in 

Marseilles, 422 

palm, the African, 245 

seed cake, varieties of, 409 

seed cake, statistics of imports, 409 

seeds of commerce. 394 

seeds received at Marseilles, 422 

seeds, statistics of production in 

India, 432 

statistics of shipments from India, 

422 

seeds and oils, production in 

France, 416 
Oils made in the United States, 422 
Olive oil of Algeria, 401 

oil of Bahama Islands, 399 

oil of France, 401 

oil of Italy, 398 



512 



INDEX. 



Olive oil of Morocco, 402 

oil of Spain, 399, 402 

oil of Tunis, 402 

oil, classification of, 398 

oil, imports into Marseilles, 398 

oil, shipments from various coun- 
tries, 395 

oil, statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 396 
tree, 394 

Orange culture in Algeria, 442 

culture in Azores, 442 

culture in the Bahamas, 446 

culture in California, 446 

culture in Florida, 445 

culture in Greece, 448 

culture in Italy, 446 

culture in New South Wales, 443 

culture in South Australia, 444 

culture in Tahiti, 446 

culture in United States, 445 

family, products of, 438 

Oranges and lemons, statistics of im- 
ports into Great Britain, 438 

&c., imported into France, 441 

Orange peel shipped from Malaga, 
448 

Oranges, statistics of exports from 
Italy, 447 

statistics of exports from Spain, 

447 
Orellin, 389 
Oswego flour, 310 

Paddy, rice in the husk, 314, 324 

Pala indigo, 355 

Palm-kernel oil, 246 

kernels, statistics of exports from 

Lagos, 247 

leaves, uses of, 263, 294 

meal oil-cake, analysis of, 247 

nut oil, 246 

oil, average yield, 245 

oil, chief ports of shipment, 245 

oil, mode of preparing, 245 

oil of Africa, 245 

oil, statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 246 

sugar, 213 

Palmetto, 294 
Palms, useful, 220 
Palmyra leaves, use of, 263 

palm, 263 

trunks for timber, 266 

Panicums, 340 

Para cocoa, 24 

Paraguay tea, 124 

Pastel, or woad, 355 

Patali, cake sugar, 258 

Pea-nut, culture of, in America, 408 

Pearl sago, manufacture of, 272 

Pepper, British consumption of, 479 

commercial varieties of, 474 



Pepper, imports into the United King- 
dom from Singapore, 476 

production in Sumatra, 474 

sources of production, 475 

statistics of imports into Great 

Britain, 478 

vine, culture of, in Malabar, 477 

Physic-nut oil, 424 

Piassaba fibre, 294 

Picul, definition of, 88 

Pignons d'lnde, 431 

Pimento, statistics of production in 
Jamaica, 504 

imports into the United Kingdom, 

505 

Pina fabrics, 453 
Pine-apple, 448 

culture in the Azores, 452 

culture in the Bahamas, 449 

culture in England, 449 

culture in India, 452 

culture in Jamaica, 451 

culture in Philippines, 453 

Pine-apple fibre, 452 

mode of preparing, 453 

preparation in Singapore, 454 

Pine-apples, large quantities preserved 

in tin.-;, 450 

mode of shipment, 449 

trade to New York, 450 

varieties of the plant grown, 449, 

451 

Pink saucers, 375 

Plantain, analysis of the fruit, 457 

culture of, 458, 460 

great number of varieties in India, 

457 

in Brazil, 24 

in Venezuela, 21 

fibre, mode of preparing, 465, 467 

meal, 463 

spirit from, 463 

starch, 464 

walks, 458 

wild, 457, 459 

Platano curado and platano pasado, 461 

Pood, definition of, 426 

Poorah, definition of, 91 

Pop-corn, 310 

Poppy-seed oil, 422, 430 

Potatoes for making starch sugar, 218 

Pucka cheenee, 254 

Pulicats, 375 

Punatoo, 267 

Purgueira seed, 431 

Purpurine, 371 

Queensland wine, 437 
sugar, 169 

Raggy, 338, 342 

Eaisins, quantity imported, 433 

produced in California, 432 



INDEX. 



513 



Raisins, produced in South Australia, 

435 
Eam-til, 421 

Eapadura, a coarse cake sugar, 146 
Eape seed, 413 
oil, 422 

statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 416 
Raven sara nuts, 488 
Ravison seeds, 418 
Rice, 313 

average yield per acre, 321, 332, 

335 

- — chemical analysis of different 
kinds, 315 

comparative weight of grains, 318 

culture in Africa, 329 

culture in Borneo, 328 

culture in Brazil, 328 

culture in China, 324 

culture i]i Formosa, 325 

culture in India, 317 

culture in Italy, 316 

culture in Japan, 326 

culture in Java, 326 

culture in Louisiana, 331 

culttu*e in the Philippines, 328 

culture in Siam, 324 

culture in the United States, 329 

enormous number of varieties re- 
cognised in India, 318 

enumerations of species, 314 

land under culture with, 335 

owe sources of supply, 314 

proportions of water in different 

kinds, 315 

statistics of exports from Italy, 317 

statistics of exports from India, 

322, 323 

statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 314 

wine, 326 

Ricinoleone, 412 
Roncon, 388 
Rouge vegetal, 375, 379 
Rousette, or flying fox, 226 
Rum made in St. Croix, 207 

our sources of supply, 133 

produce of, in Grenada, 190 

production in British Guiana, 

138, 142 

Safplower, 374 
carmine, 374 

imports into the United King- 
dom, 378 

oil, 418 

Saffron, 379 

Sago, exports from Borneo, 270, 271 

from the wild date, 250 

meal from the Gomuti palm, 250 

palm, 267 

varieties of, 268 



Sago, process of manufacture, 256 

statistics of imports into the 

United Kingdom, 273 

Sagu, Malay name for bread, 268 

St. Michael's orange, 442 

Sake, or rice wine, 326 

Salangore cane, 145 

Samp, 310 

Sassafras barks, 489 

nuts, 490 

Sawa millet, 311 

an upland rice, 327 

Seala, 254, 261 

Seer, definition of, 253 

Sesame seed, 418 

seed, prices of, 421 

seed, statistics of imports at Mar- 
seilles, 420 

Shamay, 340 . 

Shanghai, the leading tea port of 

China, 87 
Simsim, 419 

Singapore, the centre of the sago trade, 
256 

South, dried ginger, 483 
Sorghum, analysis of, 337 

species of, 336 

sugar, 128, 218 

Spice bush and spice wood, 490 
Spices of commerce, 474 

statistics of our imports from 

China, 492 
Spiked millet, 341 

analysis of, 342 

Starch in rice, 315 

producing plants, 343 

sugar, 217 

Succatosh, 310 
Sufifed-til, 419 

Sugar— aggregate and individual con- 
sumption in different countries, 131 

average yield from sugar-cane 

per acre, 138, 142, 185, 215 

average yield from beetroot, 215 

canes, chemical analyses of, 1G6, 

187 

canes, varieties of, 133, 162 

cane, varieties suitable as fodder 

plants, lo6 
cane, weight of, to make 1 lb. of 

sugar, 152 

consumption in France, 217 

culture in Straits Settlements, 

167 

in Tor tola, 187 

from the date palm, 251 

from the Gomuti palm, 248 

from maize stalks, 311 

millet, 339 

Maple tree, 211 

culture in India, 153 

I — — in Java, 168 

! in Louisiana, 148 

2 L 



514 



INDEX. 



Sugar in Barbados, 186 

in Borneo, 169 

in Brazil, 144 

production in British Guiana, 138 

in British Honduras, 146 

Trinidad, statistics of export, 191, 

193 

in Venezuela, 147 

in Victoria, 170 

West Indian production, 129 

— in Zanzibar, 184 

culture in Mauritius, 162 

in Natal, 185 

in New South Wales, 170 

in Peru, 147 

in the Philippines, 167 

in Porto Rico, statistics of ex- 
ports, 207 

in Queensland, 169 

in Eeunion, 167 

in St. Croix, 207 

in St. Kitts, 187 

St. Lucia, statistics of export, 189 

St. Vincent, statistics of export, 

190 

in Sandwich Islands, 169 

in Siam, 160 

our sources of supply, 132 

percentage of, obtained from cane 

juice in different countries, 179 

production in 1876, 130 

produce of French colonies, 216 

production of the world, various 

kinds, 128 

progress of consumption, 132 

value of that shipped from India 

and the colonies, 129 

yield of, from canes, 197, 199 

exports from France, 216 

large consumption in Argentine 

Eepublic, 127 

local consumption in India, 136 

Martinique, usines, or central 

factories, details respecting, 195 
Martinique, statistics of export 

from, 194 

statistics of export from Mont- 

serrat, 188 

statistics of exports from Mau- 
ritius, 166 

statistics of exports from the 

Philippines, 168 

statistics of export from Egypt, 

184 

in the Fijis, 169 

production in French Guiana, 144 

Guadaloupe, statistics of exports, 

206 

Jama'ca, statistics of exports, 185 

statistics of exports from India, 160 

in China, trade at the different 

ports, 161 
— — in Colombia, 147 



Sugar — Cuba, statistics of exports, 203, 
209 

in Dominica, 188 

in Egypt, 170 

Sumatra, statistics of coffee production, 
34 

Sunflower seed oil, 424 

Table rice, 314 
Tacca starch, 349 
Talipot palm leaves, 263 
Tapioca, 351 

imports into the United Kingdom 

from Singapore, 352 
Tea, American imports of, 87 

average yield per acre, 93, 101 

consumption in Australia, 97 

consumption in various coimtries, 

82 

consumption, statistics for Great 

Britain, 80 

culture, countries suitable for, 79 

culture in Australia, 116 

culture in Brazil, 117 

culture in Ceylon, 103 

culture in China, 83 

culture in Jamaica, 117 

culture in North America, 118 

culture in Japan, 115 

culture in Java, 113 

culture in Mauritius, 80 

culture in the Punjab, 102 

culture in Queensland, 117 

culture in Sikhim, 100 

culture in the Straits Settlements, 

113 

culture in Victoria, 116 

imports into the United Kingdom, 

82 

kinds of, shipped from Shanghai, 88 

manufacture of black, 85 

manufacture of green, 84 

plant, wide range of culture, 94 

planting in Cachar, 97 

production of the world, 81 

— — quantity and value of shipments 

from India, 95 

Eussian imports of, 87 

shipments from China, proportion 

to various countries, 88 
statistics of land under culture in 

India, 93 

statistics of the exports from the 

fourteen treaty ports of China, 88 

land under, in Ceylon, 36 

seed oil, 432 

Teff, 342 

Terra japonica, 384 
Theine, 3, 27 
Theobromine, 3 

Tierce of rice, definition of, 330, 334 
Tillee, 419 
Til seed, 419 



INDEX. 



615 



Toddy, 248, 265 
Triage, 33 

Trinitario cocoa, 13, 14 
Tung oil, 432 
Turmeric, 382 

— — imports into Great Britain, 384 

Ulu grass, defined, 256 
Upland rice, 334 

Vanilla culture in Brazil, 499 

culture in Guadaloupe, 499 

culture in Guatemala, 499 

culture in Java, 503 

culture in Mauritius, 503 

culture in Mexico, 498 

culture in Eeunion, 501 

pods, classification of, 499 

varieties of the plant, 498 

Vanillin, proportion in different Vanillas, 
500 

Vegetable hair, 293 

Venezolanos, a name for dollars, 20 

Veragu, 338 

Vinegar from palm sap, 265 

from the plantain, 464 

Vines, land under culture with, in 
various countries, 428 



Wanglo, 419 

Wheat crop of the world, 297 
Wine palm of Africa, 291 

production in Algeria, 430 

production in Brazil, 432 

production in California, 431 

production in France, 428 

production in Mexico, 432 

production in New South Wales, 

436 

production in Queensland, 437 

production in South Australia, 

435 

production in the United States, 

430 

production in Victoria, 434, 437 

Wines of the Cape, 433 

of France, 429 

statistics of consumption in the 

United Kingdom, 427 
exports from different countries, 

427 

Woad, 355, 357 

Wood of the Carnauba palm, 278 
of the Palmyra palm, 266 

Verba Mate, 124 
Yerbales, forests of Ilex, 125 



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THE NEW FOKMTJLA FOE MEAN VELOCITY OF DISOHAEGE 

OF eivhes and canals. 

By W. R. KUTTER. 

Translated from Articles in the ' Cultur-Ing^nieur,' by Lowis D'A. Jackson, A.I.C.E., Author of 
' Hydraulic Manual and Statistics,' ' A Curve Book,' ' Simplified Weights and Measures,' &c. 



ZsTOTIOES OIF THE I=I2,ESS. 



" About a year ago, ■when reviewing the very im- 
portant investigations of Captain Cvmningham, R.E., 
on the flow of water in the Ganges Canal, we referred 
to the above work of Herr Kutter, and expressed a 
wish that the Institution of Engineers should at least 
publish an abstract, if no translator or publisher could 
be found to present English engineers with the whole 
work, 

" As a result of our suggestion the present transla- 
tion has been made, and we welcome its appearance 
none the less that the duty of translation has been 
assumed by an engineer whose previous studies in the 
same field render him undeniably competent and 
trustworthy. 

We have frequently had occasion to ridicule the 
superstitious reverence with which too many of our 
so-called hydraulic engineers regard the nostmms of 
old authorities in their particular branch of science, 
and we may now the more properly take occasion to 
state that we consider the present work to be a specific 
against infection from these old sources of mischief. 
One minute's glance at the tables will dispel at once 
and for ever a host of illusions, and a careful reading 
of the whole work will prove most valuable to students, 
and interesting to all. 

" The most convenient, and consequently the most 
generally employed, formulag for the flow of water in 
open channels are of the form 

v = c \/ rs 

where v is the mean velocity, r the hydraulic mean 
depth, s the fall of the water in a length of unity, 
and c the experimental coefiicient. Now, in a given 
channel, and within certain limits of variation in the 
depth and surface fall of the water, the value of c 
remains practically constant, and it lias been but too 
commonly assumed that it will similarly remain con- 
stant when applied to other channels widely differing 
in section and fall. Thus in Beardmore's tables, one 
value of c does duty for all the cases tabulated, and 
the author has taken care to notify that the same 
value will apply to cases outside the limits of his 
tables, since he says the latter may be readily extended 
if it be remembered that to get double the discharge 
you require four times the fall, and so on. What years 
of laborious research have been wasted in the past, and 
would be spared in the future, were such an assump- 
tion only approximately true ! But unhappily it is 
about as unwarranted an assumption to take a constant 
value for c as it would be to assume a constant length 
for a degree of longitude. The latter will vary but 
little within certain limits of latitude, and the former 
■will similarly vary but little within certain limits as 
regards depth of water, fall of the channel, and condi- 
tion of its surface. 

"We are of opinion, therefore, that the present 
translation of Kutter's work has appeared none too 
soon, and that it wiU fill a long-standing void injthe 
literattu-e of hydraulic science." — Engineering. 

" The fact that the erosion of the bed and destruction 
of the works of the Ganges Canal were due to the 
reliance placed by Colonel Cautley, R.E., in common 
■with the majority of the English engineers of the day, 
on the velocity-formula of Dubuat, which proved, in 
this instance, mischievously misleading, is a proof of 
the great practical importance that attaches to a 
thorough knowledge of hydraulic law, in so far as it 
is at present ascertained. Considerable gratitude is 
therefore due to the enterprise, whether it be that of 
the author or that of the publisher, which has led to 
the publication of a book which must have been so 
costly to print as Kutter's ' Hydraulic Tables,' which 
are reproduced in a clear and intelligible form by the 
translation of Mr. Jackson. The public addressed by 
such a work is not large ; but to that public it has an 
indispensable value. Herr Kutter has brought the 



new formula; of D'Arcy and Bazin, and the new 
formula of the American engineers, Humphreys and 
Abbot, to the test of a tabulated series of experiments 
collected from very wide observation. From a com- 
parison of eighty-five measurements of discharge in 
Swiss rivers, it appears that the formula of D'Arcy 
and Bazin give velocities within 4 per cent, of those 
actually observed ; while the formula of Chezy-Eytel- 
wein gives a velocity of 252, and that of Humphreys 
and Abbot a velocity of 46, against an observed velo- 
city of 181, on the average of the experiments. The 
American formula is based on measurements of the flow 
of the Mississippi and its affluents, where the volume 
is immense and the inclination of the bed is very small. 
It appears, from what we have above stated, that the 
application of such a formula to the flow of water 
under other conditions is entirely out of the question. 
The subject is of too technical a nature for us further 
to pursue ; but we are able thoroughly to recommend 
the book ; and that the more so because, in spite of 
the extreme importance of the subject, both as relates 
to our own country and to India, hydraulic engineering 
is not a branch of the art and science of the engineer, 
as to which Great Britain can ■with any truth be said 
to occupj' a leading, or even a satisfactory, position. 
Herr Kutter's work, which appeared in 1870, was 
immediately translated into French, Dutch, and Italian. 
English engineers are indebted to Mr. Jackson for the 
manner in which he has translated it into their own 
tongue." — Athe^iceum. 

" This translation will be of interest to aU engiDeers 
in India who are familiar with the large work, ' Hy- 
draulic Manual and Statistics ' of the translator, now 
translated into Russian. HydrauUc engineers of every 
description, from the engineer of experience down to 
the extra assistant commissioner, who tries to find out 
how much irrigation water may be conveyed in a small 
trench of supply, will be glad to learn something of 
the way in which the only trustworthy formula for 
calculating discharges of water in open channels of 
every size and inclination, and in any material, has 
been eventually arrived at. It has been deduced from 
experimental observations on rivers of all sizes, up to 
the Mississippi down to trenches a few inches wide, 
with inclinations from those scarcely appreciable do^wn 
to the steep gradient of Swiss torrents ; and allowance 
is made for every material of surface, from smooth 
curbstone, planed and unplaned timber, rubble, earth, 
and grass-covered and pebble-impeded mud. The 
tables given in this work enable the formula to be 
applied in practice in metrical measures, with the 
least amoimt of work : the diagram answers the same 
purpose, both for metrical and for English measures. 
The application of this formula and tables for English 
measures having been already fully carried out in Mr. 
Lowis Jackson's ' Hydraulic Manual,' this translation 
may be considered as a useful adjunct to it." — AUen's 
Indian Mail. 

" ' The New Formula for Mean Velocity of Discharge 
of Rivers and Canals ' is an English translation by 
Mr. Lowis Jackson, A.I.C.E., from a German work 
by Herr Kutter, ■^\ hich has already circulated widely in 
many parts of Europe. Hydraulic science in England 
appears to have lagged far behind other branches of 
engineering, in which our countrymen have kept the 
lead of other nations for years past. Even the great 
field which India has offered to our engineers seems in 
this respect to have been but indifferently worked, 
owing, in great measure, to faulty theories and defec- 
tive or mistaken methods. The new fonuula claims to 
point the way to more successful applications of hy- 
draulic science in the future, and the claim is certainly 
supported by the good opinions of some experienced 
judges in this cotmtry, as weU as others, not forgetting 
-Home Xews. 



London: E. & F. N. SPON, 48, Charing Cross. 
New York : 446, Broome Street, 



With Portrait, Svo, Cloth, Price 12s. 6d, 



THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

OP 

SIR JOHN RENNIE, 

PAST PKESIDENT OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, F.R.S., 
ETC., ETC. 

EDITED BY HIS SON, C. G. C. BENNIE. 
OPmONS OF THE PRESS. 

"At once modest and manly, simple in phraseology, and sound in scientific conceptions, 
bright with reference to some of the most famous spots in the world, to many of the most 
noted characters of English society within the present century, and to most of the chief engi- 
neering woi-ks of our time, the autobiography of Sir J. Eennie is a work of singular interest. 
Written in idiomatic English of unusual purity, the narrative is light and graceful ; while 
the scientific descriptions of the numerous works constructed, designed, and reported upon by 
its author attain the clearness of a good specification without ceasing to be readable. The 
volume is a work of unusual merit. We cannot venture on any prediction as to the manner 
in which it will be received by the public ; but we certainly hold that the degi-ee of popular 
favour which it attains will "be a pretty accurate gauge of the extent to which the public 
taste has been vitiated by the supply of sensational publications and slip-slop writing to which 
these instructive pages present so marked a contrast." — Athenceum, Oct. 23, 1875. 

" Sir J. Rennie's autobiography will be read with interest by every member of the profes- 
sion. Written entirely from memory, and presented to the public unrevised, it bears striking 
testimony to the mental powers of the writer, then in his seventy-fourth year. As already 
stated, he had retired from the active duties of his profession, but he still contemplated, even 
at that advanced age, writing a work on the drainage of the fens and hydraulics generally, as 
well as a complete history of engineering." — Engineering, Oct. 15, 1875, 

" The boldness of his views may be exemplified by his quiet obiter dictum, after a visit to 
the Netherlands, that 'the whole of the sea-coast of Holland requires to be remodelled ;' but 
he is not ready merely to suggest. In the course of his narrative he sketches out a plan for 
reclaiming land, abolishing superfluous channels of great rivers, joining islands with the con- 
tinent, and achieving results which would soon take the sting out of old Andrew Marvel's 

^^'^'^^^ '• " ' Holland, that scarce deserves the name of land, 

Is but the offacouring of the British sand.' " 

Daily News, Oct. 27, 1876. 

" Sir J. Rennie's name is associated with many of the most important engineering works 
in this country, and the history of his professional life now before us is replete with interest, 
especially for members of his own profession." — Standard, Oct. 25, 1875. 

" This record of the professional career of one among the most illustrious engineers of the 
present century was written by Sir J. Rennie in 1867, shortly after he had retired from active 
life, and in his seventy-third year. It had to be composed, he tells us, entirely from memory, 
as he had not a single date, or note-book, or journal to refer to. Of its value and interest, 
both to members of his own profession and to the public at large, it would be difficult to 
speak too highly." — Echo, Nov. 16, 1875. 

" The autobiography is a work of unusual interest and unquestionable merit. Its style is 
simple and natural ; its language has an elegance which breathes of a less feverish, though not 
less manly, tone of society than that which marks the last quarter of the nineteenth century. 
His accounts of voyages and travels, of famous places which he has visited, and famous men 
he has known, have a charm which is even more sensible to those familiar with what he 
describes than to those to whom the account has the charm of novelty. Above all, the kindly 
tone of his mind, and the clear penetration of his professional glance, are apparent in every 
paae."— £«//j6'/-, Oct.'SO, 1875. 



"It is written in a plain unassuming style, entirely free from affectation and fine writing, 
which are the bane of so many productions of unpractised writers. His account of his own 
works is not damaged by undue assumption, and the narrative is enlivened by accounts of 
extensive travels made at various times, partly in localities seldom visited. In a word, 
although the autobiography bears a professional aspect, and contains much professional matter, 
it is a perfectly readable book for the general public, and that is saying a great deal in its 
favour." — Academy. 

" The details of the construction of the piers of London Bridge, penned as they are by the 
designer, are of great pi-ofessioual interest, and the peculiar conditions under which the bridge 
was built render it of more than usual importance, while the successful way in which all the 
difficulties connected with the old bridge and the powerful scour at this part were overcome, 
proclaim Sir J. Eennie as the king of bridge builders." — English Mechanic, Nov. 19, 1875. 

" This work contains the eventful life of a great and good man. An autobiography is 
probably the most graphic and satisfactory way in which a picture of a life can be recorded. 
To write a good autobiography is not an easy task ; the many failures show that success is 
not given to everyone who makes the attempt. Comparatively few have the requisite art 
and soundness of judgment to select and discriminate between what is only interesting to 
themselves and that which the general public will care to know. The autobiography was 
written late in life and entirely from memoiy. For more than half a century he occupied a 
prominent position before the country, and was deservedly considered one of the most dis- 
tinguished civil engineers of his generation. When such a man writes his own life we 
naturally expect that it will contain something of real value ; we venture to say that in this 
instance the reader will not be disappointed. Although the volume throughout contains a 
finely spun thread of engineering science, still that is not the distinguishing characteristic of 
this work ; it rather comprises the history of his professional career closely interwoven with 
a rich store of miscellaneous information dating from the commencement of the century and 
brought up to the present time. Renuie was gifted with a highly cultivated mind, and had 
a genial sympathy with mankind in general, and invariably manifests a kind, hearty, generous 
feeling for all ranks and conditions of men with whom he came in contact. More especially 
is this trait shown with regard to his subordinates and to all with whom he was associated 
in conducting an extensive engineering business throughout an active life. The volume 
besides contains a considerable amount of original information, the greater part of the many 
remarkable circumstances referred to came under his own observation, and in the numerous 
romantic incidents that occur he was the chief actor. These all give a life and freshness to 
the narrative which cannot fail to interest a wide circle of readers. The strictly professional 
men, who care chiefly for the technology of the engineer, and who would prefer to have an 
enlarged account of the great works on which the author was engaged — many of those works 
being of a gigantic nature and surrounded with difficulty, all the more that they were executed 
during the dawning of the most eventful period of applied science — may feel a shade of dis- 
appointment. On the other hand, the omission of correspondence and official reports from 
this narrative, giving just sufficient detail to make the subject easily understood, and elimi- 
nating the dry bones of engineering, renders the work all the more valuable for popular 
readmg. 

" There are few who delight in books who will not derive pleasure from the simple story 
containing an ever-recurring train of stirring events in the life of a true man. Rennie in his 
extensive travels visited some of the more interesting parts of the world, and had the rare 
opportunity of meeting with celebrated men in all ranks of society, which his discerning 
power of observation turns to good account, his keen eye noting all the salient features both of 
men and character, as well as the surrounding circumstances in relation to art and nature. 

" The fragmentary references that have been made to this valuable autobiography convey 
but an imperfect notion of the varied contents of the work, or of the character of the author 
as shown in its pages. His amiability and innate goodness, for which he was so distinguished, 
can only be known to those who had the privilege of personal intercourse. To those who have 
not met the author in his lifetime, the genial and unselfish character of the man may in some 
measure be realized by the expression of the portrait which accompanies the volume." — 
Examiner, Dec. 18, 1875. 

" The autobiography was written by Sir John after he had retired from the actual duties 
of his profession. It is now presented to the public in its original state, having merely 
undergone some necessary corrections, in the hope that the memoir of a man, perhaps 
unrivalled in his branch of the profession, and which contains valuable hints as to the 
neglected art of hydraulics as well as advice to engineers commencing their career, together 
with the reminiscences of one who had seen much of men and things, may be useful and 
interesting to many — and so they will." — City Press, 



London: E. & F. N. SPON, 48, Charing Cross. 

New York; 446, Broome Street. 

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